35 mm diameter, 22 g, 99.9% silver, grained edge year 2022, circular inscription REPUBLICA MOLDOVA meaning "REPUBLIC OF MOLDAVIA" and the coat of arms of the Republic of Moldavia, in exergue horizontal line and denomination "100 LEI", on either side of the face value the silver fineness and weight of the coin: Ag 999 and 22,0 g

in the field the outline of the map of Greater Romania, above the map the bust of King Ferdinand I (on the right) and the bust of Queen Marie (on the left), above "100 ANI" meaning "100 YEARS", below – year 1922, at the edge circular inscription "ÎNCORONAREA REGELUI FERDINAND I ȘI A REGINEI MARIA CA SUVERANI AI ROMÂNIEI MARI" meaning "CORONATION OF KING FERDINAND I AND QUEEN MARIE AS SOVEREIGNS OF GREATER ROMANIA" Issuing date: 23rd of December 2022 Mintage: 300 coins

The coin belongs to the Historical Events series.

The pictures of the coin are present on Romanian coins through the kind permission of an anonimous donor.

The National Bank of Romania issued in 2022 two coins dedicated to the centenary of the Coronation of King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria as sovereigns of Greater Romania - a silver coin of 10 lei and a gold coin of 500 lei.

A description of the main events of October 15, 16 and 17 of year 1922 can be found on the page of the 10 lei 2022 silver NBR coin dedicated to the Coronation (accessible via the shortcut in the previous paragraph).

Bessarabian participation at the Coronation celebration

Of course, all the mayors from Bessarabia participated in the festivities of 16th and 17th in the capital Bucharest, along with the rest of the mayors in the country.

On October 16, at 12 00, a divine service was held in Bucharest at the the Metropolitan Cathedral. The sovereigns were greeted at the entrance to the church by the Metropolitan Primate Miron Cristea, who carried a cross and the Holy Gospel. The service was officiated by the Metropolitan Primate himself. As we learn from the newspaper Dimineața of October 18 [1], at the service "the responses were given by the choir of the archdiocese of Chișinău".

It is also worth noting that at the Coronation in Alba Iulia, the Mosaic cult was represented by Yehuda Leib Tsirelson (1859–1941), the rabbi of Chişinău [2].

Philatelic issues dedicated to the centenary of the Coronation

"Poșta Moldovei" (Post of Moldova, a state-owned company offering postal services in the Republic of Moldova) issued a souvenir sheet with one postage stamp in 2022. Poșta Română (Romanian Post) issued a series of four postage stamps and a souvenir sheet. Most of the printing run of the four values was in mini-sheets of five stamps with one vignette each. The images below are from such mini-sheets. There is also a philatelic album with the imperforated versions of the values, in only 273 copies.

Medal of the General Exhibition of Bessarabia in Chișinău in 1925

On the occasion of the General Exhibition of Bessarabia, an event organized in 1925 in Chișinău, a medal was struck. It was the work of sculptor Constantin Kristescu (1871-1928). The medal was struck in Paris at the Arthus Bertrand workshop [22]. The medal shows King Ferdinand and Queen Marie wearing crowns, exactly as at the Coronation. Unfortunately, the artist did not manage to correctly engrave Queen Marie’s crown, which is represented as almost cylindrical and not with the characteristic flare.

50 mm diameter; allegorical scene: two peasant women in folk costumes, representing Romania protecting Bessarabia; Romania holds the battle flag of a regiment in her right hand (the eagle at the end of the shaft can be seen); on the left, a soldier with a weapon in his hand (in a totally unnatural position), looking across the Nistru River, next to a crenellated tower of the Hotin Fortress; behind the two peasant women, sheaves of wheat, corn stalks, a wheel, as symbols of agriculture and industry inscription ⬩ REGATUL ⬩ ROMANIEI ⬩ ⬩ EXPOZITIA ⬩ GENER ⬩ A ⬩ BASSARABIEI CHISINAU⬩SEPT⬩1925 meaning "KINGDOM OF ROMANIA GENER[AL] EXHIBITION OF BESSARABIA CHISINAU SEPT[EMBER] 1925"; in exergue, incuse, inscription "PE VECIE" meaning "FOREVER"; the medal is signed C. KRISTESCU (incuse)

crowned busts of King Ferdinand I and of Queen Marie, inscription FERDINAND⬩I⬩REGE⬩AL⬩ROMANIEI⬩MARI⬩SI⬩REGINA⬩MARIA meaning "FERDINAND I KING OF GREATER ROMANIA AND QUEEN MARIE"

References

1. * * *, Dimineața, an XIX, nr. 5731, miercuri 18 octombrie 1922, p. 4, București.

2. Roșca P.-E., Ceremonialul încoronării de la Alba Iulia din perspectiva tradiţiei bizantine. Arhiva Someşană, XXI, p. 193-224, Muzeul Grăniceresc Năsăudean, Năsăud, 2022.