Romanian leu
| Romanian leu | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leu românesc (Romanian) | |||||
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| ISO 4217 | |||||
| Code | RON | ||||
| Denominations | |||||
| Subunit | |||||
| 1/100 | ban | ||||
| Plural | lei | ||||
| ban | bani | ||||
| Banknotes | |||||
| Freq. used | 1 leu, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200 lei | ||||
| Rarely used | 500 lei | ||||
| Coins | |||||
| Freq. used | 5, 10, 50 bani | ||||
| Rarely used | 1 ban, | ||||
| Demographics | |||||
| User(s) |
 Romaniaformer:  Socialist Republic of Romania (1965-1989) Romanian People's Republic (1947-1965) Kingdom of Romania (1881-1947) Transnistria Governorate (1941-1944) Principality of Romania (1867-1881) |
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| Issuance | |||||
| Central bank |
National Bank of Romania (since 1867) Red Army (1944) INFINEX (1941-1944) General Romanian Bank (1917-1919) |
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| Website | www |
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| Printer |
National Bank of Romania (since 1867) Goznak (1944) Reichsbank (1917-1919) |
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| Website | www |
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| Mint |
Monetăria Statului (since 1867) Saint Petersburg Mint, temporary located in Krasnokamsk (1944) Reichsdruckerei (1917-1919) |
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| Website | www |
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| Valuation | |||||
| Inflation | -0.54% (December 2016 / December 2015) | ||||
| Source | National Bank of Romania | ||||
The Romanian leu, Romanian Lion (Romanian pronunciation: [lew], plural lei [lej]; ISO 4217 code RON; numeric code 946) is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 bani (Romanian pronunciation: [banʲ], singular: ban, Romanian pronunciation: [ban]). The word "bani" is also used for "money" in the Romanian language.
The name of the currency means "lion", and is derived from the Dutch thaler (leeuwendaalder / lion thaler/dollar).
In 1860, the Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza attempted to create a national românul ("The Romanian") and the romanat, however the project was not approved by the Ottoman Empire.
On April 22, 1867, a bimetallic currency was adopted, with the leu equal to 5 grams of 83.5% silver or 0.29032 grams of gold. The first leu coin was minted in Romania in 1870.
Before 1878 the silver Russian ruble was valued so highly as to drive the native coins out of circulation. Consequently, in 1889, Romania unilaterally joined the Latin Monetary Union and adopted a gold standard. Silver coins were legal tender only up to 50 lei. All taxes and customs dues were to be paid in gold and, owing to the small quantities issued from the Romanian mint, foreign gold coins were current, especially French 20-franc pieces (equal at par to 20 lei), Turkish gold lire (22.70), old Russian imperials (20.60) and British sovereigns (25.22).
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