1 Leu #343

Front

Capriana Monastery, one of the oldest monasteries in Moldova, founded in 1429 in the village of Căpriana. The monastery complex shown features twin-towered churches set against a forested hillside, representing Moldovan Orthodox Christian heritage and architectural tradition. This monastery was an important cultural and religious center throughout Moldovan history and was restored after independence.

Back

Sukhe Bator (1893–1923), Mongolian revolutionary hero and founding leader of the Mongolian People's Republic, depicted wearing traditional Mongolian headgear. His portrait appears on this Moldovan note due to printing arrangements during the early post-Soviet period when newly independent states sometimes used pre-existing printing plates or designs from other former Soviet republics. The Mongolian state emblem (Soyombo symbol) appears at center, and text is in both Cyrillic and Mongolian scripts.

History

This is Moldova's first independent currency issue following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The Moldovan leu was introduced on November 29, 1993, replacing the Soviet/Russian ruble at par. This 1 leu note from 1992 belongs to the inaugural series (Pick 5-10) issued 1992–1994. The unusual feature of this note is the mismatched design: the front depicts a Moldovan monastery while the back shows Mongolian revolutionary Sukhe Bator with Mongolian emblems and script. This occurred because newly independent Moldova initially used banknote designs and printing plates that were available from Soviet-era stocks or from other former Soviet republics during the transitional period. The entire first leu series was replaced in 2006 when Moldova redenominated its currency, removing four zeros (1 new leu = 1,000 old lei). Serial number format uses two-letter prefix (AA) followed by seven digits.