Pursuant to the provisions of Law No. 312/2004 on the Statute of the National Bank of Romania, as of 30 May 2019, the National Bank of Romania will put into circulation, for numismatic purposes, gold and brass collector coins, along with a brass circulation coin, dedicated to the Apostolic journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to Romania.
The coins have the following technical characteristics:
| Technical characteristics |
Collector coins |
Circulation coin |
| Metal/face value |
gold/lei 500 |
brass Cu80Zn15Ni5/bani 50 |
brass Cu80Zn15Ni5/bani 50 |
| Fineness |
999‰ |
- |
- |
| Shape |
round |
round |
round |
| Diameter |
35 mm |
23,75 mm |
23,75 mm |
| Weight |
31,103 g |
6,1 g |
6,1 g |
| Rim |
- |
1,9 mm |
1,9 mm |
| Quality |
proof |
proof |
uncirculated |
| Edge |
flat |
“ROMANIA” inscribed twice, with an asterisk separating the inscriptions |
“ROMANIA” inscribed twice, with an asterisk separating the inscriptions |
Obverse of the gold coin: images of places of worship and the names of the cities where they are located, namely: St. Joseph’s Cathedral – “BUCURESTI”, Marian Shrine – “SUMULEU CIUC”, Holy Trinity Cathedral – “BLAJ”, Our Lady Queen Cathedral – “IASI”, which will be visited by His Holiness Pope Francis, the inscriptions “ROMANIA” and the year of issue “2019” in an arc, the coat of arms of Romania and the face value “500 LEI”.
Obverse of the brass collector coin: images of places of worship and the names of the cities where they are located, namely: St. Joseph’s Cathedral – “BUCURESTI”, Marian Shrine – “SUMULEU CIUC”, Holy Trinity Cathedral – “BLAJ”, Our Lady Queen Cathedral – “IASI”, which will be visited by His Holiness Pope Francis, the inscriptions “ROMANIA” and the year of issue “2019” in an arc, the coat of arms of Romania, the face value “50 BANI” and the letter “N” inscribed in a circle, as a distinctive sign of the collector coin.
Obverse of the brass circulation coin: Obverse of the brass circulation coin: images of places of worship and the names of the cities where they are located, namely: St. Joseph’s Cathedral – “BUCURESTI”, Marian Shrine – “SUMULEU CIUC”, Holy Trinity Cathedral – “BLAJ”, Our Lady Queen Cathedral – “IASI”, which will be visited by His Holiness Pope Francis, the inscriptions “ROMANIA” and the year of issue “2019” in an arc, the coat of arms of Romania and the face value “50 BANI”
Reverse (common to all coins made of gold, silver and brass): the portrait and the coat of arms of His Holiness Pope Francis and the arc-shaped inscriptions “VIZITA APOSTOLICA A SANCTITATII SALE PAPA FRANCISC IN ROMANIA”, the dates of his journey “31 MAI – 2 IUNIE”, its slogan “SA MERGEM IMPREUNA!”
The mintage is:
- 500 gold coins;
- 10,000 brass collector coins with face value of bani 50;
- 1,000,000 brass circulation coins with face value of bani 50.
The selling prices are as follows:
- lei 8,660.00, VAT excluded, for the gold coin, including the leaflet;
- lei 10.30, VAT excluded, for the brass collector coin with face value of bani 50.
The gold and brass collector coins and the circulation coins dedicated to Apostolic journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to Romania , are legal tender on the territory of Romania.
The gold and brass collector coins dedicated to the Apostolic journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to Romania will be put into circulation, for numismatic purposes, through the regional branches of the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi and Timişoara.
The circulation coins dedicated to the Apostolic journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to Romania will be put into circulation through the regional branches of the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi and Timişoara, when making cash payments to credit institutions/the State Treasury.
A reservation may be requested through this Form (available in Romanian only).