Stefan Cel Mare

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I got this coin when I was in Romania in 1994, in Moldova province. We travelled around in northern Romania, and visited a lot of monastaries. In one of them I got this coin with Stefan Cel Mare III of Moldavia on it. I will always remember the very beautiful mountains in northern Romania. I stayed in Suceava, but I also visited Timisoara in Transilvania, and of course Bucuresti.

Stephen III of Moldavia (also known as Stefan the Great, Romanian: Ștefan cel Mare, "Stefan the Great and Holy"; 1433, Borzești – July 2, 1504) was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Mușat.
During his reign, he strengthened Moldavia and maintained its independence against the ambitions of Hungary, Poland, and the Ottoman Empire, which all sought to subdue the land. Stephen achieved fame in Europe for his long resistance against the Ottomans. He was victorious in 46 of his 48 battles, and was one of the first to gain a decisive victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Vaslui, after which Pope Sixtus IV deemed him verus christianae fidei athleta (true Champion of Christian Faith). He was a man of religion and displayed his piety when he paid the debt of Mount Athos to the Porte, ensuring the continuity of Athos as an autonomous monastical community.

The back side of the coin is Serbarea de la Putna, 1871:
In 1870, fulfilling the 400 years since the dedication of the monastery, Romanian students in Vienna decided to turn the event into a great national celebration held in Putna. This news caused great excitement in all the Romanian provinces. Work of the Committee elected by the student in Vienna to organize companies and numerous debates in the media celebration time provoked suspicion of the Austro-Hungarian authorities, who tried banning the celebrations. The governor called Bukovina, on 8 July, Interior Minister guidance on the attitude towards the Romanian event designed.