20 Lei

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.