1000 Romanian Leu #443

Front

Romanian National Bank (Banca Națională a României) overprint on a Russian Imperial 1000-ruble note. The front shows the serial number 004A5019010 and architectural columns with decorative floral motifs. This represents Romanian occupation currency used during World War I when Romania occupied parts of Bessarabia and needed emergency currency; existing Russian Imperial notes were overprinted with Romanian authority markings.

Back

Imperial Russian State Coat of Arms (double-headed eagle with crown, orb, and sceptre) at left. The text reads 'State Credit Note / Twenty-Five Rubles' in Russian (Государственный кредитный билетъ / Двадцать пять рублей). Serial number ГМ 635322. The date '1909' appears in an ornamental oval at bottom right. The note includes the signatures of Manager Shipov and Cashier Baryshev, standard for Russian Imperial currency of this period.

History

CRITICAL MISMATCH: The front and back images appear to show DIFFERENT notes. The front shows a Romanian-overprinted 1000 lei note ("BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI / UNA MIE lei 1000" with Romanian text and serial 004A5019010). The back shows a Russian Imperial 25-ruble note dated 1909 ("ДВАДЦАТЬ ПЯТЬ РУБЛЕЙ" with Cyrillic text, imperial eagle, and serial ГМ 635322). These are not the obverse and reverse of the same banknote. The front represents Romanian occupation/emergency currency from WWI (likely 1916–1918 when Romania issued overprinted Russian notes in occupied territories). The back is a standard Tsarist-era 25-ruble State Credit Note from 1909, issued under Nicholas II. The Shipov-Baryshev signature combination on Russian notes is documented for 1909–1912. Without being able to examine a single coherent note, precise Pick numbers and catalogue details cannot be confidently assigned.