Catalog
20 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
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| Reference(s) | P#41 |
| Obverse description | Central vignette presents two allegorical figures in classical style: a seated female figure at left holding fruit and a male figure at right resting on an oar, flanking the Romanian coat of arms at the base. The denomination DOUA ZECI LEI is printed in bold intaglio across the centre, below the bank title BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI and the date 28 APRILIE 1939. Elaborate guilloche borders frame all four corners, with the numeral 20 and the inscription ROMANIA repeated in each lateral panel, and a diagonal red SPECIMEN overprint applied across the face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 20 BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI 20 28 APRILIE 1939 DOUA ZECI LEI ROMANIA ROMANIA GUVERNATOR CASIER CENTRAL 20 20 SPECIMEN GEORGES DUVAL Fec. L. RUFFE sc. |
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| Comments |
Romania's National Bank turned to the Banque de France for this series partly out of political alignment — France remained Romania's principal Western patron through the interwar period, and the choice of printer carried diplomatic weight as much as technical logic. Ruffe was among the more accomplished intaglio engravers working at the Paris atelier during this period, and his hand shows in the fine line quality typical of Banque de France production.
By 1939, Romanian finances were under severe strain from rearmament expenditures and the collapse of the Little Entente. Notes of this issue circulated through the early occupation years before the wartime monetary disorder made them effectively obsolete.