Romania celebrates Great Union with Guardian polymer
2 December 2019
On 1 December 2019, the National Bank of Romania issued a commemorative Lei 100 banknote, using Guardian polymer substrate, to celebrate the historic completion of the Great Union which occurred just over 100 years ago.
Vice President and Managing Director of CCL Secure, Neil Sanders, acknowledged Romania’s success with polymer throughout the years.
“The National Bank of Romania were early adopters of polymer, becoming the third country after Australia and New Zealand to fully convert their family to Guardian back in 2003. Since then, Guardian has been a success for the country, with improvements to the longevity of banknotes in the cash cycle along with counterfeit resilience and an increase in cleanliness,” explained Mr Sanders.
The commemorative note was released on Great Union Day, the 100th anniversary of The Completion of the Great Union, marking the unification of Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918.
Mr Sanders shared his pride in supporting such a significant moment in the country’s history.
“The completion of the Great Union was a defining moment for Romania and the bank needed an aptly special banknote,” he said.
“The note was designed to inspire Romanians to feel proud of their country.”
The new note incorporates highly sophisticated security features to assist in the protection against counterfeiting.
Features embedded in the polymer substrate include:
- Transparent window featuring colour-changing graphic elements and a portrait of the late Prime Minister of Romania, Ion I. C. Brătianu;
- Watermark showing part of the Order of Carol I decoration that Ion I.C. Brătianu received in 1922, which is visible only when the note is held up to light; and
- Magnetic security thread displaying in negative the microtext “ROMÂNIA 100”, readable from four different directions.
Features added via printing processes include embossed details to the transparent window, colour-shifting ink, laser perforations, raised tactile elements, anti-copy patterns, a design secured by offset rainbow colouring and various inscriptions and images that are only visible from certain angles.
Additionally, there are multiple security elements detectable by special devices, such as microtexts, UV-fluorescent ink and a magnetised serial number.
The note also boasts a captivating aesthetic. Its design features a prevailing blue colour with the use of several different primary colours to add visual appeal.
Along with the portrait and decoration of Ion I. C. Brătianu, imagery representative of Romania’s history includes the coat of arms, Romanian Athenaeum, former palace of the Assembly of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament, currently the Patriarchate Palace and the National Bank of Romania’s medallion.