History·6 June 2026·4 min read
The galben — the gold that circulated in the Romanian lands
Before our leu, dozens of foreign coins circulated in the Romanian lands: galbeni, thalers, zloty. A world where you had to know the value of each.
For centuries, the Romanian lands had no dominant currency of their own. Gold and silver coins from all over Europe and the Ottoman Empire circulated: galbeni (gold coins, named after the metal's color), thalers, zloty, aspers, paras. Merchants had to know the value and purity of each.
The money changers
In such a world, money changers were essential: they knew the exchange rates and weighed the coins. It was complicated and risky. That is exactly why a single national currency — the leu, from 1867 — was a huge step forward: it brought order and trust.
One trusted coin is worth a hundred coins you must check one by one.
