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20 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1877 |
| 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 | 180 × 107 mm |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central composition presents a pedestal bearing a legal inscription, surmounted by an oval medallion with the value and a bowl of flowers; a circular white watermark medallion occupies the left field. Two peasant women advance toward the centre, hoes resting on their shoulders, set within an ornamental guilloche border with small coats of arms in the lower corners. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Laureate head of Emperor Trajan facing inward. |
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| Comments |
Romania's first domestically-authorized paper money series was commissioned almost immediately after the country declared independence from Ottoman suzerainty in 1877 — the timing was deliberate, a fiscal assertion of sovereignty made tangible through printed currency. The Imprimerie Nationale in Paris handled the production, with engraving by Paul Dujardin and design work credited to Bramtot and Duval, a combination typical of high-grade French state printing of the period.
Pick 3 is among the earliest issues of the Banca Națională, which itself had only been founded that same year by an act of the Romanian parliament. The watermark security was modest by contemporary European banking standards, and the notes suffered from relatively rapid deterioration in circulation — fine or better survivors are genuinely uncommon.