Catalog
5000 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944-1945 |
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| Size | 166 × 91 mm |
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| Obverse description | At left, a circular medallion vignette carries the conjoined profile busts of Emperor Trajan and the Dacian king Decebalus, rendered in intaglio on a blue guilloche ground. The royal arms of Romania, surmounted by a crown and supported by two rampant lions, appear at centre, set against a pale multicolour underprint. The denomination "CINCI MII LEI" is inscribed in bold letterpress across the upper centre, with the issuer title "BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI" in a cartouche at the top, and the date, Governor's and Central Cashier's facsimile signatures printed in the lower portion. |
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| Obverse lettering | BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI CINCI MII LEI GUVERNATOR CASIER CENTRAL (Translation: NATIONAL BANK OF ROMANIA FIVE THOUSAND LEI GOVERNOR CENTRAL CASHIER) |
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| Comments |
Romania's wartime finances were under severe strain by 1944, and the 5000 Lei denomination reflects that pressure directly. The note was issued across two calendar years as the country lurched through one of the more violent political pivots of the war — the August 1944 armistice with the Allies and the subsequent Soviet occupation fundamentally changed who controlled the national bank and how it operated.
Hyperinflationary pressure made high-denomination notes a practical necessity rather than a prestige issue. The 1947 monetary reform ultimately rendered the entire Lei series worthless, exchanged at punishing rates that wiped out most private savings.