Catalog
1 Leu
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 80 × 55 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI UN LEU GUVERNATOR DIRECTOR CASIER COSTIN P. |
| Reverse description | An ornamental border encloses two circular medallions — the left bearing a profile portrait of Roman Emperor Trajan and the right that of Dacian king Decebalus, both facing inward, each surmounted by the value and the BNR monogram. At the top centre, the crowned coat of arms of Romania rests on a Brâncovenesc-style architrave flanked by two rampant lions with a motto ribbon below, while the central field presents the Capitoline Wolf nursing Romulus and Remus on a pedestal. The statutory anti-counterfeiting inscription and the date 17 IULIE 1920 appear in the lower portion. |
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| Comments |
This note was issued in the immediate aftermath of Romania's territorial expansion following WWI — the country had nearly doubled in size by 1920, absorbing Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina, and the monetary system was under severe strain trying to absorb the different currencies circulating in those regions. Small-denomination notes like this one temporarily replaced coins, which had all but vanished from circulation due to metal hoarding during the war years.
Costin Petrescu was primarily a muralist and painter, best known for the monumental interior work at Ateneul Român. His involvement in banknote design was unusual for someone of his profile.