Home Europe Moldavia 1 Leu 2006
1 Leu 2006, Moldavia
in Krause book Number: 8
Years of issue: 2005
Signatures: Guvernator: Leonid Talmaci
Serie: 1994 Serie
Printer: Banque de France, Chamalieres
Printed on a special paper, which has incorporated in its structure a watermark depicting the portrait of Ştefan cel Mare and a metallic vertical security thread.
The engraving on banknote is made after this monument to Stephen III.
Stephen III of Moldavia (also known as Stefan the Great, Romanian: Ștefan cel Mare, Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt, "Stefan the Great and Holy", 1433 - July 2, 1504) was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Mușat.
During his reign, he strengthened Moldavia and maintained its independence against the ambitions of Hungary, Poland, and the Ottoman Empire, which all sought to subdue the land. Stephen achieved fame in Europe for his long resistance against the Ottomans. He was victorious in 46 of his 48 battles, and was one of the first to gain a decisive victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Vaslui, after which Pope Sixtus IV deemed him verus christianae fidei athleta (true Champion of Christian Faith). He was a man of religion and displayed his piety when he paid the debt of Mount Athos to the Porte, ensuring the continuity of Athos as an autonomous monastical community.
On the right side is Moldavian coat of arms.
The coat of arms of Moldova consists of a stylized eagle holding a cross in its beak and a sceptre and an olive branch in its claws.
According to the author of the coat of arms - George Vrabie, the eagle symbolizes the Latin origin of the people.
The chest of the eagle is protected by a shield that bears the traditional insigns of Moldavia: an aurochs head with the sun between its horns. It also contains two lozenges (the ears), a five-petal flower and a moon in a crescent phase. Everything on the shield has one of the three traditional colours: red, yellow, blue.
Lower, the inscription: "PE-UN PICIOR DE PLAI, PE-O GURĂ DE RAI..." - the opening lines of the ballad "Mioritsa" by Vasile Alexandru. Nearby, the stylized V, as a symbol of Victory.
On the background is a national multicolored ornament, two vertical decorative elements. The inscription "Republca Moldova".
Top right is the abbreviation "BNM" (Bank of Moldova).
Denominations in numerals are in top and lower left corners, also in lower right. Centered is in words and in numeral.
The graphic image of "Mănăstirea Căpriana" within a frame and under it the inscription "MĂNĂSTIREA CĂPRIANA", the nominal value written in figures and words, two vertical decorative elements, the Coat of Arms of Ştefan cel Mare, the stylised images of the Column of Traian, the Column of Infinity and between them a crescent moon, the name of the issuing bank "BANCA NAŢIONALĂ A MOLDOVEI", the abbreviation "BNM".
Căpriana monastery (Mănăstirea Căpriana) is a monastery in Căpriana, Moldova, located 40 km north-west of Chişinău, in a hilly land once called Codrii Lăpuşnei. One of the oldest monasteries of Moldova, Căpriana is located 40 km. (25 mi.) to the north-west of the country's capital Chișinău in a picturesque forested area once called Codrii Lăpușnei.
The first significant reference dates from a document issued in 1429 that gave Căpriana the status of royal monastery on behalf of Alexander the Good. In this deed the holy abode was referred to as "mănăstirea de la Vâșnovăț unde este egumen Chiprian" (the monastery of Vâșnovăț where the hegumen is Chiprian) and was given in the possession of Alexander's wife - princess Marena.
After a period of decay, the monastery was rebuilt at the behest of Petru Rareş, from 1542 to 1545.
Lower are two columns: on the right side is Trajan's Column in Rome and on the left side is the Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuși at Târgu Jiu. Between them is a crescent.
Trajan's Column (Colonna Traiana) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. Located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum.
Completed in AD 113, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, which artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians (101-102 and 105-106). Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern.
The Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuși at Târgu Jiu is an homage to the Romanian heroes of the First World War. The ensemble comprises three sculptures: the Table of Silence, the Gate of the Kiss and the Column of the Infinite, on an axis 1,300 m. (4,250 ft.) long, oriented west to east. The Ensemble is considered to be one of the great works of XX century outdoor sculpture.
Denominations in numerals are in lower left and right corners. Lower, centered, in words.
I got this banknote in summer 2006, in small Moldavian town Ştefan Vodă.
On the reverse side of banknotes in denominations of 1 and 10 lei, all issues up to and including 2006, an error was made in the signature to the image - "MÎNĂSTIREA" instead of ""MĂNĂSTIREA".
A dark outlining watermark, depicting the portrait of Ştefan cel Mare directed towards the centre, visible if seen against light;
The metallic security thread incorporated between the portrait of Ştefan cel Mare side and the central rosette, visible if seen against light;
See-through feature: when the banknote is held against light the outline of the pattern of the sun on the front side and of the crescent moon on the reverse side as well as the circle of the sun and the circle within which the crescent moon is depicted must correspond perfectly. The letter "V" on the front side and the Column of Traian and the Infinite Column depicted on the reverse side combined together create a letter "M" (Moldova)