#Exhibit of the Month

One of the great technical achievements that revolutionized the idea of time and space, opening a new era in the history of communication, is telegraphy. It is based on the transmission of electrical signals through a cable over long distances, allowing people to communicate instantly. The telegraph spread very quickly and a network of wires stretched around the world.

In 1837, the American painter and physicist Samuel Morse invented the first electromagnetic device for telegraphy, patented in 1840. To send messages by wire, Morse developed in 1838 a simple code of dots and dashes, which represented the letters of the alphabet, known as "Morse code ".

Both Morse code and the telegraph machine were improved over time, with the telegraph becoming the most widespread system of communication and information transmission for more than a century, until the advent of the Internet. The telegraph system consisted of a series of stations repeaters along the transmission line route. Each station had an operator who received and transmitted messages by telegraph. The Morse machine transmitted about 25 words per minute, which were recorded in code on a paper tape. The operator in charge of transmitting the message would decode it and write it on paper using a special typewriter.

In Bessarabia, the telegraph entered in 1860: on April 8, the Bender telegraph station began its activity, and on April 24, the one in Chisinau, following the construction of the first Odesa-Chisinau-Leova telegraph line. Currently, telegraph services have been discontinued. The only ones who still use coded communication are radio amateurs.

The Morse telegraph machine shown comes from the Osinoostrovsky electrotechnical plant, Soviet Union, and dates back to 1934. The exhibit was restored by Mihail Culașco.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

"30 years of the Moldovan leu"

Organizers: National Museum of History of Moldova, National Bank of Moldova

25 – 30 November 2023

November 29, 2023 marks 30 years since the introduction of the national currency of the Republic of Moldova. After the declaration of Sovereignty and Independence, the process of establishing the new state began with a series of important measures related to the creation or reorganization of state institutions, the adoption of the new legislation necessary for the functioning of an independent state, the management and reform of the economy. Among the urgent problems of that period was the introduction of the national currency. Already on July 25, 1990, the decision was received to introduce, starting in 1991, the common national currency with the Soviet money. At the beginning of 1991, the National Bank and the Government in order to protect the consumer market in the S.S.R. Moldova, decided to introduce coupons that would circulate simultaneously with the ex-Soviet ruble. These, called "Consumer's Card", were 247x199 mm sheets of paper, initially black and white (in March) and color (starting in April).

On June 11, 1991, the Law "On the National Bank of Moldova" was approved, in article 10 of which it was mentioned that the monetary signs will be issued in the form of banknotes (banknotes) and coins, without specifying the name of the currency yet national. On January 23, 1992, the Parliament adopted the Decision "Regarding monetary-merchandise circulation". In this document, for the first time, the name of the future national currency was nominated: the (Moldovan) leu.

On June 2, 1992, Decision no. 371 of the Government regarding the introduction of coupons with multiple valorization of the National Bank of Moldova as a means of payment. On that occasion, starting from June 10, 1992, the coupon with the nominal value of 200 was launched, which was to circulate in parallel with the rubles. A month later, the coupon with a nominal value of 50, equivalent to 50 rubles, was introduced.

November 29, 2023 marks 30 years since the introduction of the national currency of the Republic of Moldova into circulation. The exhibition organized by the National History Museum of Moldova in collaboration with the National Bank of Moldova aims to commemorate this event and familiarize the general public with the history of the introduction of the Moldovan leu.

The period passed by the young state Republic of Moldova from the declaration of Sovereignty and Independence until the introduction of the lion was arduous and difficult. The country is facing strong inflation, with a large deficit in the field of food and non-food production. To be part of the problems, the country needed its own monetary system. Until the presidential decree no. 200 "Regarding the introduction of the national currency in the Republic of Moldova" from November 24, 1993, the Republic of Moldova experienced several stages and types of temporary monetary units.

In order to create for the general public a broad picture of the history of the introduction of the leu, the exhibition will present a series of materials preceding the monetary reform, materials that reflect the process of designing and making provisional money, numismatic pieces in circulation, as well as coins commemoratives issued by the National Bank of Moldova. The public has the opportunity to see in the exhibition the black-and-white coupons, as well as the color ones, called "Consumer's Card", put into circulation at the beginning of 1991 by the National Bank and the Government in order to protect the consumer market of SSR Moldova. These are followed by the multiple redemption coupons introduced on June 2, 1992, equivalent to the Soviet ruble 1:1, which had values of 200, 50, 1000 and 5000 (rubles). On September 20, 1993, the 5 lei coupon equivalent to 5000 coupons (rubles) was introduced as a means of payment. The 5 lei banknote, then called a coupon, actually represents one of the first three lei specimens developed by master Gheorghe Vrabie. All these banknotes can be seen in the exhibition windows. These are followed by specimens of the banknotes in circulation today, the metallic coins, including those taken out of circulation, as well as the jubilee and commemorative coins.

The first jubilee coin issued by the National Bank of Moldova was devoted to the fifth anniversary of the proclamation of the independence of the Republic of Moldova, with a nominal value of 100 lei.

In 2000, the first series of such coins was inaugurated: the Moldovan Monasteries. The specimens from this series with the nominal value of 50 lei, made of silver, included the images of 20 monasteries from the Republic of Moldova. The graphic sketches were executed by plastic artists Vitalie Pogolşa and Simion Zamşa. Later, other commemorative and jubilee monetary series were introduced: Historical events; Alley of the classics in the Public Garden "Stefan the Great and Saint" in Chisinau; Sports; Personalities; Holy places; Monuments of Moldova; Holidays, culture, traditions of Moldova; Red Book of the Republic of Moldova, Famous Women, Science and Innovation, Childhood Stories, etc.