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10 lei 2009 - 150 Years since the Establishment of the Statistical Office
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10 lei 2009 - 150 Years since the Establishment of the Statistical Office 10 lei 2009 - 150 Years since the Establishment of the Statistical Office
37 mm diameter, 31.103 g, 99.9% silver, reeded edge
Obverse: ROMANIA, year 2009, face value "10 LEI", coat of arms of Romania over a graphic composition representing the statistical activity in Romania (map of Romania, two grids, a bar plot and two simple graphs, above INS, the logo of the National Institute of Statistics)
Reverse: the princely decree for establishing the Central Office of Administrative Statistics, effigies of prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza and economist Dionisie Pop-Marțian (first director of the Office), inscription 150 DE ANI DE LA INFIINTAREA OFICIULUI DE STATISTICA, meaning 150 YEARS SINCE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATISTICAL OFFICE, and year 1859

Issuing date: 15th of July 2009

Mintage: 500 coins


About the establishment of the Romanian Statistics Institutes

On April 28th 1859 prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza gave the decreee for the establishment of the Statistical Office of Walachia. As director of this office was appointed Dionisie Pop-Marțian.

On July 1st 1859 Cuza gave the decree for the establishment of the Statistical Direction of Moldavia, director of which was appointed Ion Ionescu de la Brad.

After just a few days, on July 12th 1859, the Central Office of Administrative Statistics was established by princely ordinance. Judging by the name, a possible common institution of the two Romanian principalities? Rather not, given the fact that the act of July 12th is signed by Cuza and cosigned by the minister secretary of state at home office Nicolae Kretzulescu, minister of department of interior for Walachia only.

On August 4th 1862 prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza signed the decrees through which the statistical institutions of Moldavia and Walachia were unified. Director of the new Statistical Office for the United Principalities was Dionisie Pop-Marțian. (information excerpted from Istoria României în date [Romania's History in Dates], Editura Enciclopedică Română [Romanian Ecyclopedic Printing House], Bucharest, 1971, book issued under the supervision of historian Constantin C. Giurescu)

To us it is a bit unclear why the official act of July 12th 1859 is considered as marking the beginning of the official statistics in Romania. At that date two principalities still existed (with the same prince as head of the two states), as well as a Statistical Office and a Direction. Maybe the first, Walachian - first in chronological order, approved on April 28th - and second Moldavian offices had never acted as intended?

About economist Dionisie Pop-Marțian

Dionisie Pop-Marțian was born in Alba (Transylvania, outside of the United Principalities at the time), at Ponor, in 1828. He studied at Blaj, and he graduated faculty at Vienna. Come into Walachia in 1857, he proposed the establishmenty of an office to deal with statistical issues. He died in 1865 of tuberculosis, in Germany.


During the reign of Alexandru Ioan Cuza the Union of Moldavia and Walachia was accomplished and bases were set to major state institutions, many of them still running today.

The effigy of prince Cuza appears on the 50 lei 1991 - 1996 circulation coins and on some anniversary coins: 500 lei from 2004, dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the Bucharest University, 500 lei gold 2009, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Union between Moldavia and Walachia in 1859, 10 lei 2009, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Statistical Office and on the coin set of 1 leu, 5 lei and 100 lei 2009 dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the General Staff of the Romanian Army.

We take this opportunity to express the wish that in 2010, when 150 years (one century and a half) from the establishment of the oldest modern Romanian University in Iași, Moldavia, will be celebrated - university also founded by Alexandru Ioan Cuza - the old capital of Moldavia will not be forgotten AGAIN, as it happend in 2008, when the second largest city of Romania and the Romanian city of unparallel cultural importance celebrated 600 since the first documentary attestation without any coin issue noting it.


The 10 lei 2009 coin pictures above are present on the site through the permission of an anonymous donor. These pictures, like all other pictures displayed on Romanian coins / Monede românești, cannot be used in any circumstances to illustrate auctions or sales and cannot be posted on other web page without the permission of the owner.


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