DOC // National Bank of Moldova puts into circulation commemorative coin - In memoriam: Famine in Bessarabia 1946–1947

The National Bank of Moldova (NBM) is putting into circulation starting today the commemorative coin - In memoriam: Famine in Bessarabia 1946–1947, issued in 2026. The decision was published today in the Official Journal.

The coin is made of silver, with a mintage of one thousand pieces, and has a nominal value of 50 lei.

Also, starting from April 21, the NBM will put into circulation, as legal tender and for numismatic purposes, the commemorative coin “100 years of Romanian higher education in Bessarabia”, issued in 2026. It has a mintage of 700 pieces, is made of silver, and has a nominal value of 50 lei.

The commemorative coins are sold to the general public by the NBM, based on online applications submitted in the “Coin” section of its official website, as well as through the licensed banks of the Republic of Moldova. The banks may independently set the selling price, provided they observe a maximum markup of 3% above the level set by the NBM.

Jubilee and commemorative coins are accepted as legal tender in the national economy at their nominal value.

The victims of one of the most tragic chapters in our nation’s history—the organized famine of 1946–1947—are commemorated annually on the third Saturday of April. It was one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes to strike the present-day territory of the Republic of Moldova in the 20th century. The famine was not an unavoidable natural disaster, but a tragedy exacerbated by the authoritarian and repressive policies of the Soviet regime.

According to data provided by the National Archives Agency, in just a few months more than 123,000 people died of hunger, which represented about 5% of the population of the Moldavian SSR. Proportionally, Soviet Moldova was the most affected region in the entire Soviet Union, with a mortality rate ten times higher than in Russia and five times higher than in Ukraine.