17 mm diameter, 1.8 g, 80% copper, 20% nickel, grained edge denomination "10 BANI" and year 1954 inside an oak wreath	Inscription "REPUBLICA POPULARA ROMANA" meaning "ROMANIAN PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC" and Romanian coat of arms, under the coat of arms a small line Mintage: 1.600.000 coins

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

The coins struck from 1953 on have a slight difference on the obverse. The communist inspired coat of arms got a red star atop of it in order to be more alike to the Soviet Union coat of arms. A similar change happened in the Czechoslovakian coat of arms approximately in the same period. See below the Soviet coat of arms and some other Soviet inspired coats of arms bearing the red star atop.