884) Romania's Centenary Anniversary of the Great Union of 01.12.1918: A 100 Lei Commemorative Banknote issued by the Banca Nationala'a Romaniei (Central Bank of Romania) on 01.12.2018:
The Banca Nationala'a Romaniei has issued on 01.12.2018, a new commemorative 100 Lei Banknote as part of Romania's year-long celebration of the Nation's Great Reunion on 01.12.1918.
The Great Reunion of Romania after World War I in 1918:
The Great Reunion occurred at the end of World War I in which the United Territories largely populated with Romanians from the former Austrian-Hungarian and the Russian Empire with the rest of the independent Kingdom of Romania were unified together.
As a result of the War and the negotiations which formally concluded the fighting, the now expanded Nation-State encompassed the majority of territory which included a majority of ethnic Romanians all united into one geo-political state. Through the acquisition of Transylvania and the region of Banat from Hungary, Bukovina from Austria and Bessarabia from Russia - the country's territory almost doubled and its population now numbered more than 16.0 million citizens and included substantial minorities.
The Great Union of all Romanians was made official on 01.12.1918, when all the 1228 duly appointed representatives' signatures were placed on the Resolution of the National Assembly in Alba lulia. The choice of Alba lulia took precedence over other cities as it was an important location during the Revolution of 1848-49 and the first capital of the Romanians when Mihai Viteazul, Prince of Moldavia and de facto ruler of Transylvania managed to unite the three Romanian regions of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldova for the first time in 1599.
The efforts of Queen Maria of Romania (1875-1938), who attended the Conference were instrumental in securing international recognition of the country's new borders.
Almost four years later, the coronation of King Ferdinand and Queen Maria of Romania took place in the specially constructed Coronation Cathedral in Alba Lulia on 15.10.1922. Although they had succeeded to the throne on 10.10.1914, the formal coronation was delayed because of World War I and the negotiations for expanding the territories of Romania.
The Commemorative Banknote:
The Commemorative Banknote was printed by the National Bank Printing Company at their facility at Bucharest.
The Front of the 100 Lei Commemorative Banknote shows the following representative graphical elements at right - the portraits of King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria, below which on two lines, their names and life spans - "REGELE FERDINAND I 1865-1927" and "REGINA MARIA 1875-1938" in the central area. There is an image depicting the Great National Assembly in Alba Lulia on 01.12.1918.
This face also depicts the Coat of Arms of Romania in the upper left part, the name of the issuing Central Bank "BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI" (on the upper periphery), below which is the National Bank of Romania logo placed in a medallion. Towards the bottom are the years of commemoration - "1918-2018". The face value of the Banknote appears four times on this face, - "UNA SUTA LEI" and "LEI UNA SUTA" (in words - meaning "One hundred Lei") and twice in numerals "100".
The date of circulation of the Banknote is marked - "1 decembrie 2018", printed vertically along the right side.
The Back of the 100 Lei Commemorative Banknote features the arrival of the Royal Cortege in Bucharest on 01.12.1918 and part of the mace of King Ferdinand I, together with four women in folk costumes typical of each united Romanian province - Bessarabia, Romania, Transylvania and Bukovina.
Below the women's image is the inscription - "FALSIFICAREA ACESTOR BILETE SE PEDEPSESTE CONFORM LEGILOR" (meaning "Forgery will be punished according to the Law").
On the upper periphery is seen the name of the issuing Bank - BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI". The National Bank of Romania logo is on the upper right corner and in the lower left corner.
The face value appears in words "UNA SUTA LEI" and in numerals "100".
The serial number of the Banknote is printed in letters and figures, in red and black ink - horizontally in red ink and vertically in black ink.
The specifications of this Banknote are:
Size: 147 mm x 82.0 mm; Predominant colour: Blue; Printed on: Polymer substrate in plane/relief mixed technique, with complete transparent window; Printing Limit: 10,000 Banknotes; Circulation through: Regional branches of the National Bank of Romania in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Lasi and Timisoara.
The security features of this Banknote include:
A transparent window that features the portraits of King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria, the text "ROMANIA 100", a stylised flower and portraits of the Royal Couple are applied into an integrated vertical band of variable colour whose colour changes when held against the light.
See-through Micro-text is seen on the magnetic security thread that reads "1 DECEMBRIE 1918 1 DECEMBRIE 2018".
A colour-shifting ink application used on the text "LEI UNA SUTA" which changes from golden to green when the Banknote is tilted, is shown on the face.
A latent image application of the mace of King Ferdinand I and the numeral "100" becomes visible when the Banknote is tilted and seen on the Back.
An aligned image application depicting part of the "Mihai Viteazul" Military Order, introduced by King Ferdinand I in recognition of acts of bravery during World war I, is shown on both the Front and the Back. The complete image becomes visible when the Banknote is help up against the light.
A laser micro-perforation application in the shape of the face value "100" is placed vertically in the central area.
