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Two thousand lei (Romanian banknote)
Encyclopedia
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
. 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.
are based. 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
.
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.
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.
Security features include:
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. 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.
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 RevolutionRomanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
are based. In observance of the upcoming millennium, the obverse of the note displays a rendering of the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
viewed from afar, showing all of the planets revolving around the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
.
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.
The notes were printed using a method of printing known as offset printing
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
. 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
- 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