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20 Lei Ministry of Finance
| Issuer | Ministerul Finanțelor (Ministry of Finance), Romania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1950 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Circular vignette at left with portrait busts of Roman Emperor Trajan and Dacian King Decebal in profile, set against a decorative foliate underprint in olive-green. The denomination numeral "20" appears in large format at upper right, with the issuer inscription "ROMANIA MINISTERUL FINANȚELOR" across the top. Two manuscript facsimile signatures appear in the central field above the bold letterpress legend "DOUĂ ZECI LEI" at foot, with a serial number in red at center right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ROMANIA MINISTERUL FINANTELOR 20 LEI MINISTERUL FINANTELOR DIRECTORUL BUGETULUI DOUA ZECI LEI DESN A. MURNU |
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| Comments |
The date discrepancy here is the first thing worth understanding: though issued in 1950, the note carries a print date of 30 April 1945. Romania's postwar monetary situation was chaotic — the country was simultaneously managing wartime inflation, Soviet occupation costs, and reparations obligations — and notes prepared under one political administration were routinely held in reserve and released years later under very different circumstances.
Ary Murnu, the designer credited here, was a prominent Romanian graphic artist whose work spanned the interwar and early communist periods. Direct Ministry of Finance issuance, bypassing the National Bank entirely, was itself a symptom of how thoroughly normal monetary institutions had been sidelined by 1950.