20 Lei

The P#13 20 Lei series runs from 1881 to 1895, making it one of the earliest notes issued by the Banca Națională a României, which had only been established in 1880. The institution was modeled closely on the Banque Nationale de Belgique, and the decision to commission French artists — Duval for the design, Dujardin for the engraving — reflects the broader pattern of young Romanian financial institutions outsourcing prestige printing to Western European specialists.

The printed date of 30 April 1945 is the detail that demands attention. By that point Romania was under Soviet-backed administration following the August 1944 armistice, and wartime inflation had badly eroded purchasing power. Late impressions of this plate, struck over six decades after the original issue dates, were emergency stop-gap measures rather than considered monetary policy.