Two thousand lei

Two thousand lei (Romania)
Value:	Romanian leu
Width:	142 mm
Height:	62 mm
Security Features:	Transparent window, printed thread, shadow image (BNR), window filter
Paper Type:	Polymer (plastic)
Years of Printing:	1999-2000
Obverse

Design:	Solar system
Designer:	Nicolae Săftoiu
Design Date:	1999
Reverse

Design:	1999 solar eclipse over Romania
Designer:	Nicolae Săftoiu
Design Date:	1999

In celebration of the total solar eclipse of August 11, 1999, the National Bank of Romania (BNR) decided to issue a commemorative two thousand Romanian lei banknote. This was the last solar eclipse of the millennium and was visible across southern Romania.^[1] Since it was the last eclipse of the millennium, the denomination was chosen to be 2000 in respect to the upcoming year. These notes were issued as legal tender.

1 Design
- 1.1 Main security features
2 Commemorative folder
3 History
4 References

Design

The banknote was designed by Romanian artist Nicolae Săftoiu, who is credited with the designs on which all Romanian banknotes printed since the 1989 Revolution are based.^[2] In observance of the upcoming millennium, the obverse of the note displays a rendering of the solar system viewed from afar, showing all of the planets revolving around the Sun.^[3]

The reverse of the note displays a map outline of Romania with the colors schemed to match the colors of the Romanian flag. The map marks the main points where the solar eclipse was visible in a path moving along the map from west to east.^[3]

The notes were printed using a method of printing known as offset printing. Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then finally onto the printing surface.

Main security features

Security features include:

Transparent window - special in specifically polymer notes. It is an open, clear and plastic window in the note which is hard to counterfeit.
Shadow image - includes the BNR logo. This image can be seen when the banknote is held to the light and is embedded into the plastic note.
See-through registration - optical see-through image on each side of the note to make sure it was not printed using a counterfeit, in which case it would not match and align
Printed thread - a black thread that could be see when held up to the light

Commemorative folder

In order to generate interest with currency collectors, the BNR also issued special commemorative folders with the banknotes. These were limited to 1 million pieces and each one contained a special, low-numbered banknote with the prefix 001A.

History


Obverse	Reverse
1941 2000 lei issue


Obverse	Reverse
1943 - 1945 2000 lei issue

References

^ "Jacob Lewis..". http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jbourj/money4.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
^ Ioana Moldoveanu, "The Money Maker", Vivid, 18 August 2006; accessed 6 July 2009
^ ^a ^b "http://www.geo.uw.edu.pl/HOBBY/MONEY/romania1.htm". http://www.geo.uw.edu.pl/HOBBY/MONEY/romania1.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-06.

Romanian currency and coinage

Topics	History of Romanian coins · Leu · Commemorative coins · History of Romanian banknotes · National Bank of Romania · State Mint

Coinage	1 b · 5 b · 10 b · 50 b

Banknotes	1 L · 5 L · 10 L · 50 L · 100 L · 200 L · 500 L

Former banknotes	10 b · 25 b · 50 b · 25 L · 1,000 L · 2,000 L · 5,000 L · 10,000 L · 50,000 L · 100,000 L · 500,000 L · 1,000,000 L · 5,000,000 L

Former coinage	15 b · 20 b · 25 b · 1 L · 2 L · 3 L · 5 L · 10 L · 20 L · 50 L · 100 L · 200 L · 250 L · 500 L · 1,000 L · 2,000 L · 5,000 L · 10,000 L · 25,000 L · 100,000 L