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1000 Lei State Bank
| Issuer | Banca de Stat a Republicii Populare Române |
|---|---|
| Year | 1950 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of Nicolae Bălcescu within an ornate circular guilloche vignette at left, with his name inscribed below in capital letters. At centre-right, the denomination "UNA MIE LEI" appears in large bold letterpress over an elaborate rosette underprint, flanked by two manuscript signatures above the titles PREȘEDINTE and CASIER CENTRAL, with the issue date 20 SEPTEMBRIE 1950 below. The Romanian People's Republic coat of arms is set in a cartouche at upper right, and the designer's name S. ZAINEA appears at lower left. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A finely engraved intaglio landscape vignette occupies the centre of the note, presenting a steam-powered river vessel navigating a gorge flanked by dramatic rocky cliffs and forested banks, consistent with a scene of the Iron Gates on the Danube. The state title "REPUBLICA POPULARA ROMANA" is inscribed on a ribbon banner across the upper portion of the vignette, while the denomination numeral "1000" appears in large figures at the bottom centre, with "UNA MIE LEI" repeated in cartouches at left and right. The entire composition is framed by an intricate guilloche border in deep blue. |
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| Comments |
The 1950 Romanian 1000 Lei was issued in the immediate aftermath of the 1947 monetary reform that extinguished the old National Bank system and replaced it with a Soviet-style state bank structure. The denomination itself was a holdover problem: Romania's 1947 reform had been severe, exchanging old lei at punishing rates, but inflation pressure continued, and high-denomination notes remained necessary even as the regime publicly condemned the economic conditions that created them.
Șerban Zainea was among the first Romanian designers to work directly under the new People's Republic brief, producing imagery aligned with socialist realist requirements. The 1950 series was printed domestically, a deliberate policy shift away from the prewar reliance on foreign security printers.