21.9 mm, ? g, brass face value 50 BANI, outer pearl circle	EMIL COSTINESCU and adornment inside inner pearl circle, circular inscription „TARCĂU” SOCIETATE IN COMANDITĂ 1896 meaning TARCĂU LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
24 mm, ? g, silvered zinc face value 1 LEU, outer pearl circle	EMIL COSTINESCU and adornment inside inner pearl circle, circular inscription „TARCĂU” SOCIETATE IN COMANDITĂ 1896 meaning TARCĂU LIMITED PARTNERSHIP J94 in MBR
24 mm wide octagon, 3.8 g, brass face value "20 LEI" inside a pearl circle	inscription COOPERATIVA „ALBINA” TARCĂU meaning TARCĂU COOPERATIVE SOCIETY "THE BEE"
24 mm, ? g, brass face value "50 LEI" inside a pearl circle	inscription COOPERATIVA „ALBINA” TARCĂU meaning TARCĂU COOPERATIVE SOCIETY "THE BEE"

Romanian numismatics knows also commercial tokens, many of them (149 of them) being presented inside monograph Monede şi bancnote româneşti by George Buzdugan, Octavian Luchian and Constantin Oprescu (1977).

The tokens, somehow similar to regular coins, never had an official circulation value. They were used in such places where the issuer could impose them instead or along the state currency (factories, agrarian estates, cooperatives, casinos and even some state institutions).

About the Cooperative Albina from Tarcău

The 20 and 50 lei tokens were issued by the cooperative Albina in the Romanian commune of Tarcău, somewhen between the world wars (albină means bee in Romanian; with enclitic, definite article: albina). MBR knew only the 50 and 100 lei values, with no pictures available. Here is a 20.

Commune Tarcău lies in the mountains of Neamţ, the county of Neamţ, between the municipia of Piatra Neamţ and Bicaz, actually practically linked to Bicaz.

The Cooperative Albina was established in 1914, as a cooperative society for forest exploitation and wood industry. In 1921 the cooperative built a lumber factory at the confluence of rivulet Tarcău with river Bistriţa. The transportation of logs was done on a forest railway, of 1000 mm gauge, powered by 7 steam locomotives. Some of this railway was built by the cooperative and some was used as concession (in the valley of Tarcău, 16 km of narrow gauge railway existed in 1893; the limited partnership society Tarcău took also advantage of the railway; the narrow gauge rails were used over to the 60s, when they were replaced by forest roads). In 1934 Albina had approximately 3000 employees.

After 1948 the cooperative was turned into I.F. Tarcău [Tarcău Forestry Enterprise], bearing subsequently other names also. After the fall of communism, S.C. Forestar S.A. Tarcău was established [Commercial Society Forestar Joint-Stock Company Tarcău] in 1994 - an enterprise that is direct heir of the Albina cooperative.

The images of 1 leu and 50 lei tokens are present by courtesy of Mr Bordei Cătălin.

The first token on the page bears the name of Emil Costinescu. Very likely this is Emil Costinescu (1844-1921, born at Iaşi), liberal politician, several times deputy and finance minister, director of the National Bank of Romania, mayor of Bucharest, industrialist. He is the eponym of the village and resort of Costineşti at the Romanian seaside on the Black Sea.