Romania’s central bank issues special coins to mark visit of Pope Francis

The National Bank of Romania will introduce into circulation several coins to mark the visit of Pope Francis to Romania. These are gold and brass collector coins, along with a brass circulation coin.

The obverse of the coins features images of several places of worship and the names of the cities where they are located, namely: St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Bucharest, the Marian Shrine in Șumuleu Ciuc, Holy Trinity Cathedral in Blaj, and Our Lady Queen Cathedral in Iași. These are all sites the Pope will visit while in Romania.

The reverse of the coins features the portrait and the coat of arms of Pope Francis, the dates of his journey to Romania, and the slogan “Să mergem împreună!” (Let’s walk together!)

The mintage is of 500 gold coins, 10,000 brass collector coins with a face value of 50 bani, 1 million brass circulation coins with a face value of 50 bani. The gold coins sell for RON 8,660 (EUR 1,819), VAT excluded, while the brass collector coin with face value of 50 bani for RON 10.30 (EUR 2.1).

The gold and brass collector coins will be put into circulation through the regional branches of BNR in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi and Timişoara. The circulation coins will be put into circulation through the regional branches of BNR in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi and Timişoara, when making cash payments to credit institutions or the State Treasury.

Pope Francis will visit Romania between May 31 and June 2. Besides Bucharest, he will visit Iași, Blaj, and the Marian sanctuary in Şumuleu-Ciuc.

(Photo: BNR on Twitter)