Jump to content
News Ticker
  • I am now accepting the following payment methods: Card Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal
  • Latest News

    1944 Liberation of Transylvania gold medal


    Recommended Posts

    On 22 December 1944, King Mihai of Romania sanctioned the law no. 656 and the decree no. 2510 that authorised the issue of a gold medal commemorating the liberation of Northern Transylvania in the autumn of 1944. The medal was also issued as a political declaration since at that date Transylvania was still under soviet military occupation (the return of the Romanian administration was conditioned by the installation of a communist government, which took place in March 1945 when the Romanian politicians realised that the western allies completely abandoned Romania into the hands of the soviets).

    The medal followed the general specifications of the traditional 20 lei gold coin of Romania, but with a small difference in weight. It thus conformed to an internationally recognised standard of coins. However, lacking a face value allowed the medal to be collected as a work of art, thus being exempted from the interdiction to hoard gold as circulating coins. The possession of these medals was however strictly forbidden during the communist regime.

    On the obverse of the medal there are the effigies of Prince Michael the Brave, King Ferdinand and King Mihai surrounded by the text ARDEALUL NOSTRU ("OUR TRANSYLVANIA") and the key dates 1601, 1918 and 1944. On the reverse there is the crowned head of the Romanian eagle surrounded by the crests of the 11 counties in Northern Transylvania. The medal was minted in 1 million pieces. It is estimated that about 150000 pieces are still in the vaults of the Romanian National Bank.

    ardealulnostrurq4.jpg

    Image source: Romanian Coins

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...

    Important Information

    We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.