Catalog
2 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1937-1940 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Lei |
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| Obverse description | A seated female allegorical figure occupies the left vignette, rendered in intaglio against a fine guilloche underprint, while an eagle with a cross in its beak fills the right vignette amid stylized foliage. The central cartouche bears the large denomination numeral '2 LEI' framed by ornamental scrollwork, with the bank title 'BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI' across the top. Below the central vignette, spaces for the GUVERNATOR and CASIER CENTRAL signatures appear alongside the serial number and series designation. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 2 LEI 28 OCTOMVRIE 1937 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 2 2 COSTIN P. fec |
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| Comments |
Romania's 2 Lei note of this period was printed by the Banque de France in Paris, an arrangement that reflected both the technical limitations of Romanian printing capacity and the strong diplomatic alignment between Bucharest and Paris during the interwar years. The French connection ran deep — Romanian monetary infrastructure in this period leaned heavily on French institutional models, and outsourcing security printing to the Banque de France was consistent with that relationship.
Costin Petrescu, who designed the note, was primarily a painter and muralist — his most prominent work being the interior decoration of the Athenaeum in Bucharest. His involvement in banknote design was relatively unusual for a fine artist of his profile.