In accordance with the provisions of Law No. 312/2004 - The Statute of the National Bank of Romania, as from 6 June 2008, the National Bank of Romania is to launch for numismatic purposes a silver coin dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of the economist Costin Kiriţescu.
The silver coin has the following characteristics:
- face value: leu 10;
- fineness: 999/1000;
- weight: 31.103 g;
- shape: round;
- diameter: 37 mm;
- quality: proof;
- edge: milled.
Obverse: in the upper part, the images of three coins that circulated in the Romanian provinces, i.e. a gros minted during the ruling of Petru Muşat, a Wallachian ducat minted during the ruling of Vladislav I, and a Dutch thaler-leu; in the middle, the inscription "ROMANIA" and the face value "10 LEI"; in the lower part, vertically, the year of issue - 2008, Romania's coat of arms and the images of the first Romanian coins in circulation - 1 BAN 1867 and 1 LEU 1870. The five coins refer to the impressive work of Costin Kiriţescu titled Sistemul bănesc al leului şi precursorii lui. On the outer ring, near the frame, a pearled circle.
Reverse: the portrait of the economist Costin Kiriţescu, a quotation from his works - Am simţit înfiorat respiraţia adâncă a istoriei ("Shivering I felt the deep breath of history"), an open book and an ink bottle with a quill pen - symbols of professor Kiriţescu's publishing activity; on the outer ring, the inscriptions "COSTIN KIRITESCU", "1908" and "100 ANI DE LA NASTERE" are engraved circularly, and near the frame, a pearled circle.
Each coin is embedded in a transparent plastic capsule and is accompanied by a leaflet in Romanian, English and French. The leaflet comes with an authentication certificate bearing the signatures of both the Governor and the Head Cashier of the National Bank of Romania. The coins will be displayed in appropriate cases having the NBR logo -BNR - inscribed on the lid.
The numismatic issue comprises 500 coins.
The collector coins made of silver in the issue dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of the economist Costin Kiriţescu are put into circulation through the branches of the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest, Cluj, Iaşi, and Timiş.