Romania 1914 50 bani
This specimen was lot 74498 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2023), where it sold for $216. The catalog description[1] noted, "ROMANIA. 50 Bani, 1914. Brussels Mint. Carol I. NGC MS-66. A lustrous example with whispers of champagne toning on the obverse and light russet on the reverse." This type was struck for the kingdom of Romania in 1910-14. The weight and fineness matches that of a French half franc and Italian fifty centesimi. This denomination was struck to this standard until 1914, when the stress of wartime inflation forced the government to suspend production. When mintage of the fifty bani resumed in 1921, it was an aluminum coin.
Recorded mintage: 1,600,000 plus proofs.
Specification: 2.50 g, 0.835 fine silver, 18 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-41.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, February 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the David Sterling Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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