Banca Naţională a României

Historical and Issue Context

The last eclipse of the millennium:On August 11, 1999, the last total solar eclipse of the 20th century took place, visible in southern Romania; The BNR chose the denomination of 2,000 in honor of the coming year, and issued the note as legal tender.²

Continental pioneer:printed by Note Printing Australia on Guardian® substrate, this banknote made Romania the first country in Europe to issue polymer paper money, and in time the country would become the third in the world —after Australia and New Zealand— to complete the total conversion of its currency to polymer, around 2003.³

Design by Nicolae Săftoiu:the Romanian artist responsible for all of his country's banknote designs from the 1989 Revolution until his death in 2017.²

Key Details Visible on the Banknote

• Obverse:large map of Romania colored in rainbow tones, crossed by the exact astronomical path of the eclipse through Timişoara, Deva, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Bucharest and Constanţa.
• Reverse:abstract illustration of the Solar System during the eclipse, with the solar corona flashing in metameric ink and planets like Saturn outlined in the top corner.
• Eclipse window:transparent aperture in asymmetrical oval with a matte optical embossed sun ray; A second circular window on the reverse acts as an optical verification filter.
• Transmission hologram:The transparent window includes a hologram depicting the Moon eclipsing the Sun.²
• Ascending vertical numbering:mechanically applied serial number in black ink, with digits increasing in size toward the bottom.
• Color:blue, yellow, orange and red, in a multi-color rainbow spectrum design.

Key Details Visible on the Banknote

• Obverse:engraved portrait of historian, writer, and politician Nicolae Iorga (1871–1940); at center, wild Alpine gentian flowers (Gentiana asclepiadea) and the Coat of Arms of Romania.
• Reverse:architectural view of the church at Curtea de Argeş Monastery, a center of Byzantine art and pilgrimage; at left, the heraldic eagle of Wallachia holding an Orthodox cross.
• Traditional silhouette window:transparent opening with a matte optical embossing that imitates a stylized religious/floral figure.
• Precision Microprinting:geometric backgrounds made up of lines of tiny text with the initials “BNR”, readable only with a magnifying glass.
• Dual Numbering:double serial registration on the reverse, a lower horizontal block in bright red and a left vertical block in black.
• Color:olive green, dark green and yellow undertones.

Key Details Visible on the Banknote

• Obverse:engraved portrait of composer, violinist, and pianist George Enescu (1881–1955); at center, a violin flanked by sheet music and a wild carnation (Dianthus carthusianorum).
• Reverse:main façade of the Romanian Athenaeum (Ateneul Român) in Bucharest, a concert hall inaugurated in 1888; in the background, a panel with stylized piano keys and strings.
• Window in the shape of a musical note:transparent opening that outlines the silhouette of a musical note in matte relief.
• Metallic-sheen ink:heraldic seal and bank monogram in iridescent gold ink that flashes when the surface is tilted.
• Color:light green, ocher, orange and violet undertones.

Historical and Issue Context

From Old Leu to New Leu:The three regular banknotes in this catalog entry (1, 5 and 10 Lei) belong to the “New Leu” series introduced on July 1, 2005, when Romania redenominated its currency at the rate of 10,000 old Lei for 1 new Leu, and adopted dimensions identical to those of the corresponding euro banknotes to facilitate a future adoption of the European currency.³

A unified visual system:Each denomination combines the portrait of a Romanian cultural figure on the obverse with an emblematic monument or building on the reverse, a scheme that is repeated throughout the family of polymer banknotes introduced in 2005.³

Key Details Visible on the Banknote

• Obverse:engraved portrait of painter Nicolae Grigorescu (1838–1907); at center, a paintbrush flanked by wild white mallow flowers (Althaea officinalis) and the Coat of Arms of Romania.
• Reverse:view of a traditional fortified culă house from the Oltenia region, beside a sketch based on a Grigorescu painting of a young peasant woman carrying a sack over her shoulder.
• Window with brush silhouette:Transparent opening with the silhouette of a brush engraved in matte optical relief.
• Optically variable device:bright metallic seal with the “BNR” monogram at the upper center.
• Translucent Perfect Register:a small multicolored floral monogram that aligns to the millimeter on both sides when held to the light.
• Color:pink, ocher and multicolored gray undertones.