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500 Lei Patriarchal Cathedral
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 2006 |
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| Value | 500 Lei |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing busts of Saints Constantine and Helena depicted in Byzantine iconographic style, each wearing an imperial crown with pendilia; between them rises a Latin cross inscribed INRI. The label SF. IMP. C-TIN appears to the left of Constantine and ST. ELENA to the right of Helena. In the lower center, the Romanian state coat of arms is displayed, featuring the eagle displayed. The denomination 500 LEI appears in large numerals at lower left, with the country name ROMANIA inscribed vertically along the right border. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | 2006 - Proof - 250 |
| Additional information |
Issued to mark the 70th anniversary of the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, which was consecrated in 1925 but not completed in its full decorative program until decades later. The Romanian Orthodox Church's relationship with the communist state was uneasy but never fully severed — the Patriarchate survived by degrees of accommodation that remain debated by historians. A gold commemorative honoring this institution in 2006 carried implicit meaning in a country still working through that legacy.
Struck in .999 fine gold at exactly one troy ounce, this is among the more straightforward of BNR's commemorative program — limited mintage, collector-targeted from issue.