2020-01-10 Fri

Moldova is an Eastern European country and former Soviet republic that is landlocked with Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. Moldova has varied terrain including forests, rocky hills and vineyards. Its wine regions include Nistreana, known for reds, and Codru, home to some of the world’s largest cellars. The capital city of Chisinau has Soviet-style architecture and the National Museum of History, exhibiting art and ethnographic collections that reflect cultural links with neighbouring Romania.

The Leu is the currency of Moldova and like the Romanian leu, the Moldovan leu (plural: lei) is subdivided into 100 bani (singular: ban). The name of the currency originates from a Romanian word which means "lion".

There have been two series of Moldovan leu banknotes. The front of all the notes feature a portrait of Stefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great, also known as Stephen III of Moldavia), the prince of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504.

Today we are looking at a 50 Lei banknote issued in 2002. The obverse follows the patterns and has the portrait of Stephen the Great to left and the Coat of Arms with the National Bank of Moldova logo below to right. The reverse depicts the Monastery at Hirbovet. This note has the portrait of King Stephen the Great as its watermark.

Image Courtesy: PicClick