#Exhibit of the Month

The great ruler Stephen the Great, outstanding army commander and diplomat, was also concerned during his life with the economic prosperity of the country, supporting the development of crafts, trade and fairs. During his reign, groși and half groși minted in the dinar system were issued, a monetary system introduced in Moldova during the last reign of Petru Aron (1455-1457).

The coins were minted from silver of superior title, those that reflect stability in the economic life of the country at that time. Their masterful execution at the Suceava mint is among the beautiful artistic achievements during the reign of Stephen the Great.

During his reign, two types of issues were minted, for the two denominations: groși and half groși.

Type I issues have a split shield on the obverse; in the first quarter appears a rose surmounted by a cross and three fascias, in the second quarter. For the epigraph issues (groși), the image is accompanied by the circular legend with the name of the issuer: + STEFANVS VOIEVODA. On the other side appears the bour's head with a star between the horns accompanied by the heraldic furniture - the rose and the contoured crescent, placed to the right and left of the bour's head; circular legend: MOLDAVIE COIN.

On type II coins in the shield on the obverse appears a patriarchal cross (double) and the legend STEFANVSVOIEVOD or abbreviated STEFANVSVOIE. On the reverse, as in type I, the bour's head with heraldic attributes is preserved: rose right/crescent left and crescent right/rose left. A star or rose appears between the ox's horns. The legend accompanying the face with the bour head is MONETAMOLDAVI or abbreviated MONETAMOLDA.

The dating of Stephen the Great's coins is still under discussion. According to one opinion, type I issues were minted between 1457-1476, and type II between 1480/1481-1505 (Octavian Iliescu), and another 1465/1467-1475/1476 for type I and 1476/1479-1497 for type II (Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu).

The coins in this showcase were discovered during the archaeological excavations at Orheiul Vechi (Trebujeni, Orhei district) in the 6th and 7th decades of the 20th century:

1. Type I money issues, groși, silver
2. Type II money issues, groși, silver
3. Type II coin issue, half groși, silver

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

"Polish-Romanian military relations in the interwar period"

May 27 - May 31, 2021

National Museum of History of Moldova, Polish Institute in Bucharest, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Chisinau invite you to the opening of the temporary open-air exhibition "Polish-Romanian military relations in the interwar period".

In 2021 we celebrate one hundred years since the end of Polish-Romanian military relations. On March 3, 1921, in Bucharest, representatives of Poland and Romania signed the "Convention of Defensive Alliance between the Republic of Poland and the Kingdom of Romania" together with a secret military convention. This date is the cornerstone of modern military relations between the two countries. On this occasion, the Polish Institute in Bucharest prepared the exhibition "Polish-Romanian military relations in the interwar period", which now reached Chisinau.

The exhibition consists of 13 panels, which show chronologically the mutual relations between the two countries, which in the interwar period were linked not only by the common border but also by the strategic defensive alliance that provides mutual support in case of aggression by the Soviet Union ( formerly Soviet Russia).
Numerous meetings and personal relationships of Marshal Józef Piłsudski with King Ferdinand and the royal family prove the geopolitical and strategic dimension of the mutual relations in the interwar period.

We invite you to the opening of the exhibition that will take place on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, at 13:00, at the entrance of the National Museum of History of Moldova (31 August 1989 Street, 121 A).

The open-air exhibition (on the museum fence) can be viewed until May 31, 2021.