One ban

TheRomanian one-ban coinis a unit of currency equalling one one-hundredth of aRomanian leu.It is the lowest-denomination coin of the present currency and has been minted every year since the leu was redenominated in 2005. As well as Romania, the coin has been minted in theUnited Kingdom(1867),Germany(1900) andRussia(1952).

One ban

Romania
Value	0.01Romanian leu
Mass	2.4 g
Diameter	16.75 mm
Thickness	1.6 mm
Edge	Smooth
Composition	Brass-platedsteel
Years of minting	1867, 1900, 1952-1954, 2005-present
Obverse
Design	'ROMANIA',Coat of arms,eight four-pointed stars, year of minting
Design date	2004/2005
Reverse
Design	1 BAN
Design date	2004/2005

History

Principality

1 Banu coin from 1867

The first one-ban coin was struck in 1867 by two different mints inBirmingham,England:Heatonand Watt & Co. The coin measured 15mm in diameter and weighed 1g. It was composed of 95%copper,4%tinand 1%zinc.The obverse featured the name of the country and its coat of arms. The reverse featured the denomination within a laurel branch and oakbranch.The denomination within the wreath read1 BANUand 1867. The short 'u' sound at the end of Romanian words was common in pronunciation, but was made obsolete in 1904 by the 'Regule ortografice' (spelling regulations), printed by theRomanian Academy.Each mint struck 2.5 million of the coin. Watt & Co. used themintmarkWATT & Cbelow the wreath while Heaton used aH.While their other Romanian coins in 1867 used their full name, space was a constraint on the 1 banu. The coins entered circulation on 1 January 1868.

Kingdom

1 Ban coin from 1900

The first one-ban coin to feature the Romanian monarch was minted in 1900 and featured on its obverse KingCarol Iand the national coat of arms on the reverse. It retained the dimensions and composition of the 1867 coin. The King's inscription readCAROL I REGE AL ROMANIEI(King of the Romanians). Below his head was the nameKULLRICH,the surname of the engraver. On the reverse, the date was split across each side of the coat of arms. Below the coat of arms on the right was an ear of wheat, while on the left was the mintmark B. Although representing the Romanian capitalBucharest,the 20 million of these coins from 1900 were minted inHamburg,Germany.No 1 ban coins were minted in any other years of theKingdom of Romaniadue to inflation.

Communism

1 ban coin from 1952

The denomination returned in 1952 undercommunistrule, after a monetary reform on 28 January of that year. Its dimensions and mass remained the same as in 1867 and 1900, although the composition changed to 95% copper and 5%aluminium.The coin featured Romania's communist coat of arms on the obverse. The reverse featured the denomination and year in plain type.The coin was minted at Moscow Mint in SovietRussiaand 67.4 million were issued.The next year a star was placed above the coat of arms, akin to other communist nations. For 1953, 8 million of the coin were issued from Bucharest, but after 15.3 million in 1954the denomination was again demonetised.

After 1989

1 ban from 2013

On 1 July 2005, the leu was redenominated, with 10,000 old leu becoming equal to one new leu. Thus, the new 1 ban coin was equivalent to 100 old lei, a denomination which had been demonetised in 1996.The one-ban coins were sold to large shops in rolls of fifty.

Two version of the new 1 ban coin exist, the first being 0.05mm wider in diameter.The first issues of all of Romania's new coins were of a different diameter to the present, but none by more than 0.15mm.