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1 Leu
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1937-1938 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central vignette presents the she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus, a celebrated Roman foundational symbol, engraved in fine detail on a pedestal set within an ornate guilloche border. The numeral 1 and the inscription LEU appear in large format at both left and right margins. A Romanian royal coat of arms with the motto NIHIL SINE DEO is positioned above the wolf group, while a cautionary anti-counterfeiting legend occupies the lower panel. |
| Reverse lettering | 1 LEU 1 LEU NIHIL SINE DEO FALSIFICATORII ACESTOR BILETE, ACEI CARI VOR FI INTREBUINTAT BILETE FALSE, COMPLICII LOR, PRECUM SI ACEI CARI VOR FI INCERCAT A COMITE ASEMENEA FAPTE VOR FI PEDEPSITI CONFORM LEGILOR PENALE. COSTIN-P. |
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| Comments |
Romania's 1 Leu of 1937–38 was printed by the Banque de France at a time when Romania was actively outsourcing its smaller-denomination production to Western European security printers — a reflection of ongoing capacity constraints at domestic facilities. The Banque de France handled several Romanian commissions during the interwar period, and the quality differential between Paris-printed and locally produced notes was visibly significant.
Costin Petrescu was primarily a muralist and monumental painter, better known for his work inside the Ateneul Român. His involvement in banknote design was a deliberate cultural policy choice by the BNR, not a printing-house decision.