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500 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Națională a României |
|---|---|
| Year | 1992 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Lei (500 ROL) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central vignette presents three major works by Brâncuși rendered in intaglio: "Muza Adormită" (Sleeping Muse) at left, the elongated "Pasărea Măiastră" (Magic Bird) rising diagonally at centre, and "Începutul Lumii" (The Beginning of the World) at right, set against a geometric guilloche background. Denomination numerals "500" repeat across the lower margin in letterpress. At right, a decorative guilloche panel with a circular rosette and the bank monogram in the upper corner completes the design. |
| Reverse lettering | CINCI SUTE LEI FALSIFICAREA ACESTOR BILETE SE PEDEPSEȘTE CONFORM LEGILOR DECEMBRIE 1992 BANCA NAȚIONALĂ A ROMÂNIEI (Translation: FIVE HUNDRED LEI FORGERY OF THESE NOTES IS PUNISHABLE BY LAW DECEMBER 1992 NATIONAL BANK OF ROMANIA) |
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| Comments |
The 1992 Romanian 500 Lei belongs to the first generation of post-communist BNR issues, produced as the country scrambled to replace Soviet-era iconography with something distinctly Romanian. Hyperinflation was already eroding purchasing power so rapidly that this denomination, meaningful at issue, became effectively petty cash within a few years — the BNR would eventually be issuing notes in the hundreds of thousands of lei before the 2005 redenomination cut four zeros from the currency.
Ion-Octavian Penda designed several notes in this transitional series. Security provision was modest: a basic watermark and embedded thread, reflecting both the economic constraints of the period and Romania's limited access to high-specification banknote production at the time.