Catalog
50 Lei
| Issuer | Romania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1877 |
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| Currency | First leu (1867-1947) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BILET HYPOTHECAR 12 JUNIU 1877 CINCI-DECI LEI MINISTRU DE FINANCIE MEMBRII AI COMITETULUI BILETELOR HIPOTHECARE Casier cal al Tesaurului ROMANIA A. BRAMTOT et G. DUVAL fec. P. DUJARDIN sc. |
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| Reverse lettering | ROMANIA 50 50 50 FALSIFICATORII ACESTOR BILETE CUM SI TOTI ACEIA CARI VOR FI CONTRIBUIT LA EMITEREA UNEI SUME MAI MARE DE BILETE DA CAT CELE PREVAZUTE PRIN LEDGEA DE FACIA, SE VOR PEDEPSI CONFORM ART. 112 SI URMATORUL DIN CODICELE PENAL A. BRAMTOT et G. DUVAL fec. P. DUJARDIN sc. |
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| Comments |
Romania's first domestically-authorized paper currency series, of which this is among the earliest high-denomination notes, was produced by the Imprimerie Nationale in Paris — a deliberate political choice by a state eager to project fiscal credibility in the years immediately following the formal establishment of the Banca Națională a României. The engraving by Paul Dujardin is notably refined for the period, reflecting the Imprimerie Nationale's long-standing relationship with intaglio work for foreign governments.
The 184 × 26 mm format is strikingly elongated — almost ribbon-like — which is unusual even by nineteenth-century European conventions and appears specific to this early Romanian issue.