Catalog
1 Leu
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915-1916 |
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| Currency | First leu (1867-1947) |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears the denomination within a guilloche medallion incorporating the BNR monogram of the Banca Națională a României. The left panel carries a pastoral-industrial vignette with a sheaf of wheat, a sickle, grapevines, and oil derricks in the background; the right panel presents a bust of a woman engaged in needlework, facing left. Lettering along the borders records the bank name, denomination, and the facsimile signature of designer Costin P. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI UN LEU GUVERNATOR DIRECTOR CASIER COSTIN P. |
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| Comments |
Romania entered the First World War in August 1916, and the timing of this issue is inseparable from that decision. The Banca Națională had been preparing for the financial pressures of mobilization, and small-denomination paper replaced coin as silver and copper were hoarded or diverted. Over twelve million printed, yet surviving examples in any usable condition are genuinely uncommon — wartime small notes circulated hard and were rarely saved.
Costin Petrescu is better remembered today as a muralist, which makes his appearance on a banknote commission slightly unusual for the period.