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100 lei 2013 - Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu - 175 Years since Birth |
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21 mm diameter, 6.452 g, 90% gold, reeded edge Obverse: year 2013, coat of arms of Romania, ROMANIA, face value 100 LEI, an image of the Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu museum in Cîmpina | Reverse: at right bust of Hasdeu, inscription "1838-1907 Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu", at lower-left, inside a crescent-shaped space, a fragment of a coat of arms attributed by Hasdeu to Stephen Petriceicu, a Moldavian voivod from the 17th century
Issuing date: 15th of July 2013 Mintage: 250 coins |
A short life story of the Romanian thinker, writer, poet and dramatist Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu is presented on the page dedicated to the 50 lei silver and 100 lei gold anniversary coins issued in 2011 by the National Bank of the Republic of Moldova. The two coins set belongs to the series Alley of the Classics from the Public Garden "Stephen the Great and the Holy" in Chișinău. About Hasdeu Castle in Cîmpina Petriceicu Hasdeu lived a true tragedy in 1888, and something broke forever inside his soul. Iulia Hasdeu, his only child, died from tuberculosis. Hasdeu sought refuge in spiritualism, trying to contact his daughter from beyond; between 1894 and 1896 he built at Cîmpina a strange castle, according to plans received from the spirit of Iulia. Since 1897 Hasdeu lived at his property in Cîmpina (several houses existed at that time near the castle). The castle is comprised of three crenelate towers. The building and its interior are full of elements with significances originated in spiritualism. About the coat of arms represented on the coin's reverse The coat of arms partially appearing on the reverse has a party per pall reversed shield; dexter chief, purpure (purple), is charged with a flag with cross; sinister chief, blue, charged with Moldavian urus, black, with star between horns, with the Sun and the Moon above; the base is red, charged with gold arrow and sword, crossed. The shield is surmounted by a helmet. On a scroll below the shield the Latin motto PRO FIDE ET PATRIA is placed, meaning FOR FAITH AND COUNTRY. The escutcheon does not have any supporters. All (the whole achievement) is resting on a mantle, gules lined with ermine, tied up with braid with tassels. The mantle is topped with a closed princely crown. Hasdeu attributed this coat of arms to voivod Stephen Petriceicu, who ruled Moldavia three times between 1672 and 1684. The coat of arms is supposed to be granted by John III Sobieski (1674-1696) to the Moldavian prince, after he had received the Polish indygenat from the sejm (he was recognized as Polish nobleman). Hasdeu considered that his family was related to voivod Petriceicu. A quite similar coat of arms is represented on the front door of the castle - a rotating stone door. In [2] the coat of arms of Hajdeu-Petriceicu is represented a little bit differently. In 1897 the castle was visited by Ion Luca Caragiale, who published his interview with Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, his impressions and a description of the building in a newspaper named Epoca, under the title A Visit to Iulia Hașdeu Castle [1]. After the death of Hasdeu the castle slowly became a ruin. Only after WW2 the castle was repaired and transformed into a museum. |
References
1. Caragiale I. L., Opere III. Reminiscențe și notițe critice. Editura Cultura Națională, București, 1932, available in digital format on Biblioteca digitală a Bucureștilor (Digital Library of Bucharest).
2. Hagi Mosco E., Steme boerești din România. Atelierele Socec, București, (1918), available in digital format on Digital Library of Bucharest website.
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