Banca Naţională a României

Pursuant to the provisions of Law No. 312/2004 concerning The Statute of the National Bank of Romania, on 12 April 2010, the National Bank of Romania will put into circulation, for numismatic purposes, a gold coin commemorating the 160th anniversary of the birth of Mihai Eminescu.

The gold coin has the following characteristics:

• face value: leu 500;
• shape: round;
• diameter: 35 mm;
• metal: gold;
• fineness: 999‰;
• weight: 31.103 g;
• quality: proof;
• edge: flat.

Obverse: in the upper half, Romania’s coat-of-arms partially overlapping the face value – leu 500; below, an open book on a laurel wreath. The left page of the book features Eminescu’s portrait from 1869 and the right page show some of the poet’s signatures. The coat-of-arms and the book together with the laurel wreath superpose a double circle partially surrounding the elements of design. The inscription “ROMANIA” is engraved in a half circle on the lower outer side.

Reverse: in the middle, the memorial house in Ipoteşti, where the poet spent his childhood, and his portrait from 1885 surrounded by a double circle similar to that on the obverse. The inscriptions “MIHAI EMINESCU” and “160 ANI DE LA NASTEREA POETULUI” are engraved in a half circle on the upper side and on the lower side respectively, and the years “1850” and “2010” on the left side and right side respectively.

Each coin is housed 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 numismatic issue comprises 500 coins.

The selling price is leu 4,980, excluding VAT.

The gold collector coins commemorating the 160th anniversary of the birth of Mihai Eminescu will be put into circulation through the branches of the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi and Timişoara.