Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
10 Bani Ministry of Finance
| Issuer | Romanian Ministry of Finance |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | A left-facing portrait bust of King Ferdinand I, surmounted by a crown, occupies the center of the note, flanked symmetrically by royal monograms. The denomination numeral '10' is repeated at multiple positions within finely engraved guilloche underprint patterns. Official printed signatures of the Ministry of Finance appear in the lower portion of the design, with the date 1917 inscribed above. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ZECE BANI NIHIL SINE DEO FALSIFICATORII ACESTOR BILETE, ACEI CARI LE VOR FI INTREBUINTAT SAU CARI LE VOR FI INTRODUS IN TARA SAU LE VOR FI PUS IN CIRCULATIE SE VOR PEDEPSI CU INCHISOARE DE LA 5 PANA LA 10 ANI CU INTERDICTIE SI AMENDA CONF art. 117 CP SERVICIUL GEOGRAFIC AL ARMATEI |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Romania's monetary system collapsed under German occupation in 1916–1917, with the National Bank of Romania evacuated to Iași along with the government. To fill the void left by hoarded and withdrawn coinage, the Ministry of Finance — not the central bank — issued these fractional notes through the Army Geographic Service, the military cartographic press. That choice of printer reflects pure wartime necessity: conventional printing infrastructure was either occupied, destroyed, or inaccessible.
At 44 × 33 mm, this is among the smallest paper money ever officially circulated in Romania. The tiny format itself caused handling problems; contemporary accounts note widespread loss and rapid deterioration, which is why intact survivors are disproportionately scarce relative to original print runs.