Catalog
100 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Nationala a Romaniei |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940-1942 |
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| Printer | Banque de France, France |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette in intaglio shows an allegorical female figure in Romanian national costume seated at left, rendered in a brownish monochrome palette against an ornate guilloche underprint. The bank title BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI appears across the top panel, with the date printed in the upper centre field and the denomination UNA SUTA LEI in large letterpress text along the lower margin. Serial numbers appear at upper left and lower right, with the engraver and designer credits GEORGES DUVAL fec. and L. RUFFE sc. at the lower corners. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Romania's wartime financial position forced a pragmatic arrangement: with domestic printing capacity strained, the Banca Naţională contracted the Banque de France to produce this series, an agreement that became increasingly awkward after Romania aligned with the Axis in 1940 and France fell under German occupation that same year. The notes were engraved by Léon Henri Ruffe and designed by Georges Duval, both working within the Banque de France's established intaglio tradition.
Pick 50 spans 1940–1942, a period when Romanian currency was under considerable inflationary pressure tied to wartime mobilization and German economic extraction. Ruffe's engraving work is among the finer in the series.