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20 Lei BGR - German Occupation
| Issuer | Banca Generala Romana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Currency | First leu (1867-1947) |
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| Obverse description | Black text on a brown guilloche underprint, with large ornate rosettes at left and right containing the numeral 20. The central text panel states the note's issuance authority and its cash backing at the Bank of the German Empire in Berlin, with the issuing bank name 'Banca Generala Romana' and 'Sectia de emisie' below. Two manuscript signatures appear above the red serial number at the bottom center. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | DOUE DECI LEI BANCA GENERALA ROMANA DOUE DECI LEI LEI LEI 20 20 20 20 20 Falsificatorii acestor bilete si cari vor fi intrebuintat bilete false, sau le vor fi introdus in tara, se vor pedepsi. Falsificatorii acestor bilete si cari vor fi intrebuintat bilete false, sau le vor fi introdus in tara, se vor pedepsi. (Translation: TWENTY LEI ROMANIAN GENERAL BANK TWENTY LEI LEI LEI 20 20 20 20 20 The forgers of these notes and who will use forged notes, or will have brought them into the country, will be punished. The forgers of these notes and who will use forged notes, or will have brought them into the country, will be punished.) |
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| Comments |
Banca Generala Romana was not a Romanian institution in any meaningful sense — it was a German-controlled bank established in Bucharest in 1917 specifically to manage the occupied Romanian economy after the fall of the capital in December 1916. The notes it issued, including this 20 Lei, were instruments of extraction: funding German and Austro-Hungarian military expenditure while systematically draining Romanian gold and commodity reserves.
The print date of 30 April 1917 places this note in the earliest phase of the occupation issue. Romania's legitimate government and the Banca Națională had retreated to Iași, leaving the occupation currency to circulate across Wallachia and most of Moldavia for nearly two years.