November 29, 1993 is the day the Moldovan leu was founded/created. The Moldovan leu is the national currency of the Republic of Moldova and is composed of 100 subunits called bani, and the international code by which the currency is described is ISO 4217 MDL. Currently, the MDL is divided into 9 types of banknotes and 4 types of coins.
The Moldovan leu is called "leu" due to important historical factors that occurred back in the 17th century. At that time, Wallachia did not have a common local currency, but the inhabitants used coins from abroad made of gold and silver. Due to the increasing economic influence of the Dutch Empire on the lands of the Romanian Wallachia and the Balkan peninsula, the Dutch currency appeared on which the image of a lion was depicted. In 1867, after the unification of the Romanian principalities, a single currency was named the leu, which referred to the Dutch currency. The Bulgarian leva and the Albanian lek have exactly the same etymology as the Romanian and Moldovan leu.
On November 29, 1993, the Moldovan leu replaced the coupon (photo), which since 1992 had been a temporary currency replacing the Russian ruble. The revaluation rate was set at 1 leu for 1,000 Moldovan rubles or coupons. The issuance of a new currency that year stopped the hyperinflation that began with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1991s. When the Moldovan leu was first issued, the US dollar was worth 3.85 lei. Moldovan banknotes have been created since their first issuance in a small town in France that has had an experience of printing banknotes for more than 300 years.
The first series of banknotes was issued in November 1993, with the 1 leu, 5 lei and 10 lei banknotes. The first series was completely different from the banknotes we have in circulation today. The front of the banknotes featured the face of Stephen the Great, and the back depicted the Soroca Fortress (see photo).
The banknotes were much thinner than the ones we have today. The first banknotes were designed in the colors of the flag: the 1 leu banknote was yellow, the 5 lei banknote was blue and the 10 lei banknote was red.
The modern lei series was issued in 1994, when the 1 leu (May 1994), 5 lei (April 1994), 10 lei (May 1994), and 50 lei (May 1994) banknotes were first put into circulation. Due to the rather high inflation during the following years, the NBM issued the 100 lei and 200 lei banknotes in September 1995. In December 1999, the 500 lei banknote appeared on the market for the first time, and in October 2003, the 1000 lei banknote. The authorities decided that all banknotes should feature a single character due to the simplicity with which the banknotes could be created and the speed because at that time the national economy was being devoured by the Russian ruble. The use of single-face banknotes allowed the creation of banknotes in a much faster period. The security features of the banknotes include a shaded watermark representing the portrait of Stephen the Great, the metallized security thread embedded between the portrait of Stephen the Great and the central guilloche and the front-back overlay.
The banknotes differ in the dominant colors used, in size and in the architectural images on the back of the banknote. The images on the front of the banknote are practically similar, but the main criterion for differentiating the banknotes is the color. The 10 lei banknotes have the same size as the 100 lei banknotes, which is why in recent years there have been some counterfeiting schemes by painting the 10 banknotes with the same colors that we can find on the 100 lei banknotes. The back of the banknotes shows graphic images of the Căpriana Monastery (1 leu), the Church of St. Dumitru of Orhei (5 lei), Hârjauca Monastery (10 lei), Soroca Fortress (20 lei), Hârbovăț Monastery (50 lei), Tighina Fortress (100 lei), Chișinău City Hall (200 lei), Chișinău Cathedral (500 lei) and the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (1000 lei). All designs on the Moldovan leu banknotes are by the artist Gheorghe Vrabie.
Currently, there are 5 types of coins in circulation: 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 bani. All Moldovan coins except the 50 bani are made of aluminum, the 50 bani ones began to be made of brass-plated steel starting with February 1998.
The most recent issues have taken place from 2010 to the present for all banknotes except the 500 and 1000 lei. The only difference between the banknotes issued before 2010 and those after is the signature of the NBM Governor Dorin Drăguțanu, who on November 6, 2009 replaced the first NBM Governor - Leonid Talmaci.
In 2010, the NBM adopted a monetary policy strategy to directly target inflation following the failure to maintain inflation within a single digit for several years. For 2013, the NBM aims to maintain an average inflation of 5% with a maximum variation range of +/-1.5%. Today, according to official NBM data, the current inflation rate is 4.7%.
The Moldovan leu has had its ups and downs. One of the highest inflation rates recorded for the leu was in 1999, when the economic crisis reached its peak of 39.20%. The lowest inflation rate recorded in recent years was from 2010 to the present due to the direct inflation targeting strategy. Below are the inflation rates recorded in the Republic of Moldova from 1995 to the present according to official World Bank data.
Message from former NBM Governor Octavian Armașu on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the Moldovan leu into circulation:
“The Moldovan leu became the national currency of the newly created modern state of the Republic of Moldova shortly after the proclamation of its independence. It subsequently went through countless resistance tests, but each time it managed to maintain and strengthen the trust of citizens. The Moldovan leu has affirmed its role as a means of payment enshrined in the Constitution, and the National Bank has the necessary experience to ensure its resistance and maintain a stable and reliable banking sector,” said former governor Octavian Armașu.
In the anniversary year of 2023, for the Moldovan leu, the National Bank of Moldova organized several events, including a trip on the “Road of Money”. It is a financial education event loved by children and young people, the financial subject becoming one of great interest for many of them. The trip will begin at the central bank and end at commercial banks, offering visitors the opportunity to learn how money circulates, in what form and how it reaches the economy or consumers.
The National Bank, in partnership with the National Museum of History of Moldova, also organized tours dedicated to the anniversary of the Moldovan leu from November 25 to 30, 2023. Upon entering the museum, visitors receive a card-ticket, which gives them free access to all rooms, including the "Treasures of the Past" exhibition, which presents gold and silver relics.
The National Bank of Moldova (BNM) celebrated National Currency Day on November 29, 2023. The event was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Moldovan leu being put into circulation as a means of payment on the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
Who is the author of the design of the national currency?
The author of the appearance of our banknotes is the plastic artist Gheorghe Vrabie, who worked on the design of the national currency in the Printing House of the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest, because “the conditions in Chisinau were unsuitable.”
Not even Gheorghe Vrabie’s family knew where he was and what he was doing while working on the design of the Moldovan banknotes. "I worked for three months in Bucharest, with the sentry next to me, without anyone knowing where I was, because the authorities were careful not to leak information," he said.
The eight banknotes with a face value of 1 to 1,000 lei are printed in France. Moldovan coins, however, are minted at the State Mint of Romania, except for the 50 bani, which are manufactured in the Czech Republic.
The first Governor of the National Bank, Leonid Talmaci, signed his name 19 times before the signature placed on the first banknotes was chosen.
The first commemorative coin of the Republic of Moldova appeared in 1996, when our country marked 5 years of independence. The coin was minted by the National Bank of Moldova. From 1996 to the present, the NBM has launched 188 commemorative coins, which can be found at the institution's museum.
The most expensive coin of the Republic of Moldova was launched in 2018 and commemorated 100 years since the Union of Bessarabia with Romania. The coin is made of pure gold and weighs 31.1 grams. The value of the gold in this coin alone is almost 2,000 dollars, which makes it the most expensive national coin and the most difficult to find among collectors.
Initially, three banknotes or coupons were put into circulation: 1, 5 and 10 lei, short-circulation, which had a single security element. The 5 lei banknote was blue, the one leu was yellow, and the ten – red, evoking in tandem the colors of the flag of the Republic of Moldova.
The 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 lei banknotes, which were developed later and are still in circulation today, have ten security features.
Did you know that the Moldovan leu could have been called a “ducat” or a “thaler”? In the early 1990s, some people in the country’s leadership proposed giving the national currency the name ducat or thaler.
However, the team involved in making the banknotes rejected the proposal, thus establishing that the national currency would be called the “Moldovan leu”.
In conclusion, we can admit that with the advent of the Moldovan leu, it was one of the most important achievements of this country in the context of economic reforms despite numerous failures and delays in implementing reforms in the real sector of the economy. The Moldovan leu plays an important role for every citizen of the Republic of Moldova and the benefits that this currency has given us over the years are infinite.
Surse: bancamea.md, bnm.ro, maib.ro.
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