1 Leu Moldovan Currency

Moldova's 1 Leu sits at the awkward bottom of a currency introduced in 1993 to replace the cupon — the short-lived transitional note used after the Soviet ruble collapsed. By 2006, a single leu had so little purchasing power that this denomination functioned almost entirely as change, and examples in genuinely circulated condition tend to show heavy soiling from that constant low-value handling.

Banque de France has printed Moldovan notes since the series launched, an arrangement reflecting both the lack of domestic printing infrastructure and Moldova's broader westward institutional tilt in the post-Soviet period.