Pursuant to the provisions of Law No. 312/2004 – The Statute of the National Bank of Romania, on 19 July 2010, the National Bank of Romania will put into circulation, for numismatic purposes, five silver coins dedicated to the patriarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church: Miron Cristea, Nicodim Munteanu, Justinian Marina, Iustin Moisescu and Teoctist Arăpaşu.
The silver coins shall have the following features:
- metal: silver;
- face value: leu 10;
- shape: round;
- diameter: 37 mm;
- purity: 999‰;
- weight: 31.103 g;
- quality: proof;
- edge: milled;
- mintage: 5,000 pcs. (1,000 pcs. each).
Obverse (common): the Patriarchal Palace in Bucharest; above, the inscription in an arc “PALATUL PATRIARHAL”; below, the inscription “ROMANIA”, the face value of the coin “10 LEI”, the coat of arms of Romania and the year of issue “2010”.
Reverse 1: the portrait of Patriarch Miron Cristea; to the left, the Patriarch’s life span “1868 – 1939”; to the right, down, the arms of the Romanian Patriarchate; on the outer ring, “PATRIARHUL MIRON CRISTEA” inscribed circularly.
Reverse 2: the portrait of Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu; to the left, the arms of the Romanian Patriarchate and the Patriarch’s life span “1864 – 1948”; on the outer ring, “PATRIARHUL NICODIM MUNTEANU” inscribed circularly.
Reverse 3: the portrait of Patriarch Justinian Marina; to the right, the arms of the Romanian Patriarchate and the Patriarch’s life span “1901 – 1977”; on the outer ring, “PATRIARHUL JUSTINIAN MARINA” inscribed circularly.
Reverse 4: the portrait of Patriarch Iustin Moisescu; to the right, the Patriarch’s life span “1910 – 1986” and the arms of the Romanian Patriarchate; on the outer ring, “PATRIARHUL IUSTIN MOISESCU” inscribed circularly.
Reverse 5: the portrait of Patriarch Teoctist Arăpaşu; to the left, the arms of the Romanian Patriarchate and the Patriarch’s life span “1915 – 2007”; on the outer ring, “PATRIARHUL TEOCTIST ARĂPAŞU” inscribed circularly.
The selling price, VAT not included, for the set of five silver coins in the numismatic issue “Patriarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church: Miron Cristea, Nicodim Munteanu, Justinian Marina, Iustin Moisescu and Teoctist Arăpaşu” is of leu 950.00.
The silver coins are housed in transparent plastic capsules and are accompanied by leaflets featuring an overview of the numismatic issue in Romanian, English and French. The leaflets come with certificates of authenticity bearing the signatures of both the Governor and the Head Cashier of the National Bank of Romania.
The silver coins dedicated to the patriarchs of the Romanian Orthodox Church are legal tender in Romania.
The collector coins made of silver will be put into circulation through the branches of the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi, and Timişoara.