Romfilatelia dedicates the postage stamp issue 145 years since the inauguration of the Romanian Mint to the celebration of this fundamental Romanian institution. The Romanian Mint, the place where the coin is minted and begins its long journey, is one of the oldest institutions of our country.
The Romanian Mint has an unquestionable cultural, social and financial importance. The coins and other products manufactured in the mint (jewelry, religious objects, badges, decorations, etc.) are, like stamps, the bearers of meanings and symbols, history and culture.
On February 24th, 1870, the first Romanian Mint was inaugurated in the presence of Prince Carol I, Prime Minister Alexandru Golescu and Finance Minister Ion C. Bratianu, in a specially designed headquarters on the Kiseleff Street, Bucharest.
Nowadays, it is the Museum of the Romanian Peasant that is placed on the site of the old Mint, and only the street where the building was, the Mint Street, reminds the contemporary that there were minted the first coins of Romania. The building of the first mint was demolished in 1912, after housing for a long while the School of Fine Arts.
The postage stamp of the issue with the face value of lei 8.10 reproduces the image of the 1870s first building of the Romanian Mint, along with the reverse image of the first 1 leu coin, a silver coin issued by the Mint the same year, 1870, and included within the stamp graphics in a special perforation.
The stamp of the souvenir sheet, with the face value of lei 14.50, presents the first golden coin of lei 20, issued by the Romanian Mint in 1870 while the margin illustrates the effigy of King Carol I.
The philatelic product (the silver perforated souvenir sheet) is an exclusive product, based on an original concept of Romfilatelia, created into a limited edition of 430 pcs. This is represented by the replica of the souvenir sheet, made of silver; the gold plated stamp of the perforated souvenir sheet represents a first because of the perforation made in a precious metal. The product is inserted in an elegant box, on which interior lid is placed the philatelic booklet containing the „complete series” block of stamps (the stamp of the issue and the stamp of the souvenir sheet) and the certificate of authenticity, numbered from 001 to 430.
Noticing the necessity of minting metal coins in the country, in 1935, the new headquarters located on the Filaret Hill was inaugurated, the place where the Romanian Mint keeps functioning to this day.
With nearly a century and half of experience, the Romanian Mint Autonomous Administration wants to demonstrate once again, as it also did after its foundation, that it is profitable to produce currency in the country, both for economic and political reasons, as minting currency at home emphasizes the idea of state sovereignty and unity.
