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5 Lei
| Issuer | Romania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1978-1990 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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| Obverse description | Central field features the state arms of the Socialist Republic of Romania, depicting a forested mountainous landscape with a rising sun, an oil derrick, and factory structures, all enclosed within a wreath of wheat ears tied with a ribbon bearing the inscriptions 'REPUBLICA SOCIALISTA' on the left and 'ROMANIA' at the base, surmounted by a five-pointed star. The circular legend 'REPUBLICA SOCIALISTA ROMANIA' runs along the upper periphery in Latin characters, with the four-digit date '1978' positioned in the lower field beneath the arms. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | REPUBLICA SOCIALISTA ROMANIA 1978 (Translation: The Socialist Republic of Romania 1978) |
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| Additional information |
Romania's aluminium 5 Lei was a product of Nicolae Ceaușescu's drive toward economic autarky — domestic aluminium production, heavily developed through the 1970s, made the metal politically convenient for coinage even as its low intrinsic value reflected the Lei's increasingly fictional purchasing power. The coin circulated through the final, desperate years of the regime, when Ceaușescu was exporting food and fuel to repay foreign debt while Romanians queued for basics.
The series ran until 1990, the year after his execution on Christmas Day.