Romania 1941 250 lei
This specimen was lot 72631 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Santa Ana, CA, October 2020), where it sold for $110. The catalog description[1] noted, "ROMANIA. 250 Lei, 1941. Bucharest Mint. PCGS MS-63 Gold Shield. "NIHIL" edge. Quite vibrant and lustrous, this choice example features some alluring golden-russet toning as one approaches the peripheries." This denomination was introduced in 1935. Two types with different edge lettering were struck in 1941; this one, lettered "NIHIL SINE DEO", and a scarcer variety (KM 59.2), lettered "TOTUL PENTRU TARA". We are not separating them on the Wiki as the difference is not visible in the usual obverse/reverse photos. Romania was one of the few countries which attempted to circulate silver coinage during World War Two. This image refers to Romania's claim on the Moldova of Stephen III, including Bessarabia and Bucovina. In 1940, Moldavia was annexed to the USSR. Stalin's land grab strengthened the hand of the right wing Fascist groups in Romania. When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in autumn 1941, Romania came in on the German side, a rash choice she would later regret.
Recorded mintage: 13,750,000.
Specification: 12 g, 0.835 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-59.3.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The October 2020 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
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