37 mm diameter, 23.5 g, coppered tombac, reeded edge Obverse: ROMANIA, face value 1 LEU, year 2019, coat of arms of Romania, an image of the building of Sfatul Ţării in Chişinău	Reverse: bust of the politician, inscription ALEXANDRU MARGHILOMAN and years 1854 and 1925 Issuing date: 1st of July 2019 Maximum mintage: 300 coins (in sets only)
37 mm diameter, 31.103 g, 99.9% silver, reeded edge Obverse: ROMANIA, face value 10 LEI, year 2019, coat of arms of Romania, an image of the building of Sfatul Ţării in Chişinău	Reverse: bust of the politician, inscription ALEXANDRU MARGHILOMAN and years 1854 and 1925 Issuing date: 1st of July 2019 Maximum mintage: 300 coins (in sets only)
21 mm diameter, 6.452 g, 90% gold, reeded edge Obverse: ROMANIA, face value 10 LEI, year 2019, coat of arms of Romania, an image of the building of Sfatul Ţării in Chişinău	Reverse: bust of the politician, inscription ALEXANDRU MARGHILOMAN and years 1854 and 1925 Issuing date: 1st of July 2019 Maximum mintage: 300 coins (in sets only)

Alexandru Marghiloman (born at Buzău, Romania, 1854-1924) was a conservative politician.

On the disastrous background of the Romanian state involved in WWI and confronted with the collapse of the frontline that had naturally resulted from Bolshevization of Russia, Alexandru Marghiloman accepted the dignity of prime minister (March 5th 1918 – October 23rd 1918) with the goal of signing the painful Bucharest Treaty with Austria-Hungary and Germany. A known philo-German, he succeeded general Alexandru Averescu (the future marshal), being himself succeeded by general Constantin Coandă (Henri Coandă's father).

The name of Alexandru Marghiloman is connected to the Union of Basarabia with Romania, on March 27th 1918, the epochal event which took place at Chişinău through the vote of Sfatul Ţării (Council of the Land), the legislative and executiv body of the Moldavian Democratic Republic established on the space of the defunct Russian gubernia of Basarabia. The Union of Basarabia took place shortly after the signing off of the preliminary treaty of the Buftea-Bucureşti Peace, on February 20th / March 5th 1918.

The Romanian prime-minister was invited to the festive session of Sfatul Ţării on March 27th 1918, session when he took the opportunity to state [1]: "... In the dire times of the Moldavian Republic, when the young government addressed Romania for help, She, caring Mother who heard the known voice of her child, did not linger and came to her help. All social classes, all parties as one scurried there, where duty and the voice of blood called. And lo and behold, today we reap the harvest of your Honorable Selves' work, true sons of the people, and of the patriots who worked to the gain and benefit of our people and the entire Romania".

It can well be reckoned that the allegory of Romania and Basarabia as mother and daughter, present in the discourse of Alexandru Marghiloman on the day of the Union, is to be found as well in the concept of coins issued for the honoring of the event's centenary by the National Bank of Moldavia.

The state anthem of the Moldavian Democratic Republic was at the time "Deşteaptă-te, române" [Wake up, Romanian], patriotic poem that was to become from 1991 and up to the present the anthem of Romania and, parallelly, from 1991 over to 1994, national anthem of the Republic of Moldavia (Republica Moldova).

The Albatros Villa in Buzău, domain of the Marghiloman family, was entrapped within the German occupation zone over to the end of the war. The campaign, German post cards, distributed to combatants and sent home from the frontline, included as well this objective within the themes as ilustrative for the occupied territory. The post card in the picture proudly mentions: Eigentum des Herrn Marghiloman (Property of Mr Marghiloman), thus indicating, implicitly, the notoriety of the Romanian man of state. Presently the Albatros Villa is the heart of the Cultural Center "Alexandru Marghiloman" in the municipality of Buzău, inaugurated on October 1st 2015.

On March 27th 2017 (the date of Basarabia's Union), Romanian president Klaus Iohannis promulgated the law by which the date of March 27th was declared national holiday in Romania. On the event's page it is mentioned that [2]:

"Sfatul Ţării [Council of the Land] in Chişinău decided, on March 27th 1918, the Union of Basaraba with Romania. This historical act opened up the process of the Great Union, finalized with the Grand Gathering at Alba Iulia on December 2st 1918, when the Romanians from Transylvania, Banat, Maramureş and Crişana decided, in their turn, the Union with Motherland, the constitutive event of the modern Romanian state the centenary of which we will celebrate next year". ("Sfatul Ţării de la Chişinău a hotărât, pe 27 martie 1918, Unirea Basarabiei cu România. Acest act istoric a deschis procesul Marii Uniri, finalizat cu Marea Adunare de la Alba Iulia de la 1 Decembrie 1918, când românii din Transilvania, Banat, Maramureş şi Crişana au decis, la rândul lor, Unirea cu ţara, evenimentul de constituire a statului român modern al cărui centenar îl vom sărbători anul viitor".)

The image of the Sfatul Ţării building where on March 27th 1918 the Union of Basarabia to the Motherland was voted appears on seven Romanian coins:
- 100 Years since the Establishment of the Sfatul Ţării - 100 lei silver 2017 (2018) - Republic of Moldova;
- Union of Basarabia - 100 Years - 50 bani, 1 leu, 10 and 100 lei 2018;
– Alexandru Marghiloman - set 1 leu, 10 and 100 lei 2019.

References

1. Ţurcanu I., Papuc M., Basarabia în actul Marii Uniri de la 1918, Editura Ştiinţa, Chişinău, 2017.

2. ***, Declararea zilei de 27 martie - Ziua Unirii Basarabiei cu România ca zi de sărbătoare naţională. Preşedintele României.