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500 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1934 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Lei |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 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 |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI CINCI SUTE LEI 19-VII-31-34 GUVERNATOR CASIER CENTRAL 500 500 |
| Reverse description | A finely engraved landscape vignette occupies the right and centre of the note, presenting Peleș Castle set among dense conifer forests on the Carpathian slopes, with a flagpole visible above the roofline and rolling meadows in the foreground. The denomination numeral 500 appears in bold at upper left within an elaborate engraved border of geometric and foliate guilloche patterns. A legal warning text is set within a framed panel at the lower centre, beneath the printer's imprint. |
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| Comments |
Romania's interwar period placed enormous strain on the BNR's ability to maintain confidence in the leu, and the 500 Lei series of the early 1930s was partly a response to currency reforms following the catastrophic hyperinflation of the 1920s — the leu had lost roughly 97% of its prewar value by the time stabilization was achieved in 1929. Commissioning Bradbury Wilkinson, then at the peak of their intaglio security printing work, was a deliberate signal of institutional credibility.
Bradbury Wilkinson's New Malden facility produced banknotes for dozens of governments during this period, and Romanian commissions were not unusual for them. The watermark remains the primary security feature — no fibers, metallic thread, or overprint.