Pursuant to the provisions of Law No. 312/2004 – The Statute of the National Bank of Romania, as from 25 November 2009, the National Bank of Romania is to put into circulation for numismatic purposes a silver coin dedicated to Timişoara, the first European city lit by electric street lamps.
The silver coin has the following characteristics:
- face value: 10 lei;
- shape: round;
- diameter: 37 mm;
- fineness: 999‰;
- weight: 31.103g;
- quality: proof;
- edge: milled.
Obverse: on the left side, the face value – 10 LEI, a vintage street lamp, the inscription “ROMANIA”, the year of issue – 2009 and the coat-of-arms of Romania; on the right side, the depictions of some buildings and monuments that are representative for Timişoara: the Roman-Catholic Dome, part of the monument dedicated to the Holy Trinity, the statue of Virgin Mary, the Romanian Opera house, the Orthodox Cathedral, the Banat Museum and the “Mitropolit Şaguna” bridge over the Bega river.
Reverse: the inscription “TIMISOARA – PRIMUL ORAS EUROPEAN ILUMINAT ELECTRIC” (Timişoara – the first European city lit by electric street lamps) in a half circle on four lines, images depicting the hydroelectric power station on the Bega river, a group of three electricity generators and the building of the first power station in Timişoara; in the lower part, the inscription “1884”.
Each coin is embedded in a transparent plastic capsule and is accompanied by a leaflet featuring an overview of the numismatic issue in Romanian, English and French. The leaflet comes with a certificate of authenticity bearing the signatures of both the Governor and the Head Cashier of the National Bank of Romania.
The coins are displayed in appropriate cases having the NBR logo – BNR – in silver ink on the lid.
The numismatic issue comprises 500 coins.
The selling price is of lei 170, excluding VAT and the price of the cases.
The silver collector coins dedicated to Timişoara, the first European city lit by electric street lamps, are to be put into circulation through the branches of the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi, and Timişoara.