The National Bank of Romania Museum, in partnership with the “Queen Mary” City Museum and the Brukenthal National Museum, organized the temporary exhibition “The Power of the Leu: The History of Money in Romania”. This exhibition is open to the public at the Braunstein Palace in Iași, a section of the “Queen Mary” City Museum, until the end of April 2025.

The exhibition concept captures the story of Romania's national currency through over 550 artifacts, tracing its evolution from the establishment of the national monetary system in 1867 to the coins and banknotes we currently have in circulation. Visitors can also view some of the earliest Romanian medieval coins, such as the silver ducats minted in the 14th century by Vladislav I Vlaicu, ruler of Wallachia, and the silver groats introduced by Petru Mușat, ruler of Moldavia.

The journey through the history of the “leu” continues with the first banknote issues of the National Bank of Romania, printed from 1881 onwards, and includes the initial proof sheets of the lei 100 banknote sent from Petrograd in 1917 to the bank’s temporary headquarters in Iași. Additionally, visitors will find a sieve used by French specialists in the 19th century for producing watermarked paper, a material used in the printing of Romanian banknotes.

For the first time, printing plates, sheets with colour separations, and polymer banknote sheets are on display, along with explanations of the processes for withdrawing these notes from circulation and recycling them.

A special section is also dedicated to notable personalities and monuments of Iași, honoured over time through collector coin series issued by the National Bank of Romania.

The exhibition is free to visit according to the visiting schedule provided by our partners at the “Queen Mary” City Museum.