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1 000 000 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Nationala a Romaniei |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003-2004 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Predominantly blue, violet, green, and yellow on a polymer substrate. An intaglio portrait of playwright Ion Luca Caragiale is positioned at right, with a violet orchid blossom and a stylized theatrical mask vignette occupying the centre. A transparent window incorporating a dove motif appears at left, with a guilloche underprint throughout the face. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central vignette presents a detailed architectural rendering of the old National Theatre in Bucharest, flanked at left by a full-length statue of Caragiale. At right, a stylized theatrical comedy-and-tragedy mask motif is set against a transparent polymer window element, with multicolour guilloche patterns framing the composition. |
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| Comments |
Romania's polymer million-lei note had an unusually short lifespan by design. It was issued knowing that a redenomination was imminent — the 2005 reform replaced 10,000 old lei with one new leu, making the 1,000,000 lei note worth exactly 100 new lei at conversion. The note was essentially born obsolete, a stopgap against inflation that had eroded the currency over more than a decade.
Romania was among the early adopters of Australian-developed polymer substrate in Eastern Europe, and this high-denomination issue was part of a broader series transition away from paper. The transparent window placement on this note was a deliberate anti-counterfeiting response to the volume of forgeries that had plagued the preceding paper issues at comparable face values.