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5 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | First leu (1867-1947) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI 16 Februarie 1917 5 LEI GUVERNATOR DIRECTOR CASIER COSTIN P. |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | FALSIFICATORII ACESTOR BILETE, ACEIA CARI VOR FI INTREBUINTAT BILETE FALSE, SAU LE VOR FI INTRODUS TARA, DE VOR PEDEPSI CU INCHISOARE DE LA 5 PANA LA 10 ANI, CU INTERDICTIUNE SI AMENDA CONF. ART. 117 C. P. 5 LEI 5 LEI |
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| Comments |
Romania's financial system came under acute strain after the fall of Bucharest to German and Austro-Hungarian forces in December 1916. The government and the National Bank retreated to Iași, and with the country effectively split, the need for small-denomination notes became urgent — coin circulation had collapsed almost entirely. This 5 Lei was part of a substantial emergency issue intended to keep the truncated Romanian economy functioning in the unoccupied northeast.
Costin Petrescu, later far better known as the muralist behind the Ateneul Român interior, was an unusual choice for a wartime currency commission — his background was painterly rather than engraving-oriented, which shows in the design's character.
The watermark remains the sole mechanical security feature, a thin defense against the counterfeiting operations known to have been run under German occupation administration elsewhere in the country during this same period.