Catalog
100 000 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1947 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| 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) | Șerban Zainea |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI GUVERNATOR CASIER CENTRAL UNA SUTA MII LEI FALSIFICATORII ACESTOR BILETE, ACEI CARE VOR FI INTREBUINTAT BILETE FALSE, COMPLICII LOR, PRECUM SI ACEI CARI VOR FI INCERCAT A COMITE ASEMENEA FAPTE VOR FI PEDEPSITI CONFORM LEGILOR PENALE Ș. ZAINEA (Translation: NATIONAL BANK OF ROMANIA GOVERNOR CENTRAL CASHIER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND LEI THE COUNTERFEITERS OF THESE TICKETS, THOSE WHO WILL HAVE USED FALSE TICKETS, THEIR ACCOMPLICES, AS WELL AS THOSE WHO WILL TRY TO COMMIT SUCH DEEDS WILL BE PUNISHED UNDER CRIMINAL LAWS Ș. ZAINEA) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ROMANIA 100.000 |
| 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 postwar hyperinflation was among the worst in European history outside Weimar Germany. By 1947, the leu had collapsed so thoroughly that a 100,000-denomination note was effectively small change — the same year saw notes issued at 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 lei as the crisis deepened. The entire series was swept away in August 1947 when the communist-backed government conducted a punishing currency reform that capped redemptions at 20,000 old lei per person, wiping out private savings almost entirely.
Zainea was one of the few Romanian designers working on official banknote commissions through this period, though the printing was handled by the State Printing Works in Bucharest.