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25 Bani BGR - German Occupation
| Issuer | Banca Generala Romana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 25 Bani (0.25) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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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 | Olive-brown note with an ornate guilloche border framing the face. At right, an oval cameo vignette encloses a classical portrait of Mercury in profile facing left. The denomination numeral 25 appears in the lower right corner within a fine lathe-work panel, while two manuscript signatures appear below the issuing authority text at centre-left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Olive-brown reverse dominated by an elaborate guilloche underprint with floral and rosette ornaments filling the field. The bank title is set in a plain panel at top, with the denomination expressed both in words across the centre and as numerals 25 at either side. A red-printed serial number appears in the lower centre, above a framed anti-counterfeiting warning text in Romanian. |
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| Comments |
Banca Generala Română was not a Romanian institution in any meaningful sense — it was a German-controlled bank established in Bucharest after the Central Powers occupied roughly two-thirds of Romania in late 1916, including the capital. The occupation administration needed small-denomination currency to function, and this note was among the first instruments that bank produced to fill the void left by the retreating Romanian government, which had relocated to Iași along with the National Bank's reserves.
The print run of over twelve million for a single low-denomination note reflects the scale of the replacement currency operation — not casual issue. Forgeries of the occupation series were reported even during the war itself.