50 Lei Dobruşa Monastery

Issued to mark the 600th anniversary of Dobruşa Monastery, one of the oldest monastic sites in Moldova, founded according to tradition in the late 14th century during the reign of Stefan I. The commemorative program Moldova ran around 2000 drew heavily on Orthodox heritage as a cultural anchor during a period of severe post-Soviet economic contraction — the leu itself had only been introduced in 1993 to replace the Soviet ruble.

KM#81 was struck in a low mintage typical of Moldovan silver commemoratives of this period, most of which saw limited domestic circulation given average monthly wages that made a 50 lei face value genuinely significant.