Hello there!
My name is Ioan (although I sometimes present myself as Silviu), I’m Romanian and since everybody has been so nice to me here on Numista, I thought I could help with a problem I’ve seen foreigners struggle with, while dating Romanian banknotes still in circulation!
As of May 2023, there are 8 banknotes in circulation (1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Lei), which come in 2 series: the 2005 (the COA doesn’t have a crown) and the 2018 series (the COA does have a crown), the only exception being the 20 Lei banknote, which is really really hard to find and relatively new (only comes in the 2018 series)
Most people (including myself last week) think the year of the banknote can be found on the side, when in reality is part of the serial number.
The serial number consists of 3 numbers, followed by a letter and then another 7 numbers (Example: 123A 1234567).
While dating the banknotes, you must look at the first 3 numbers (In our example, these would be 1, 2 and 3). 1 and 2 represent the year, while 3 represents the month (2012, March!) It’s that easy!
Let’s try another example, this time with the page dedicated to the 1 Leu Banknote. The serial number showed is 194i 9382224. Although at the first glance, you’d be tempted to say it’s 2018 (I mean, it’s really understandable - it’s written there, on the banknote!), the correct answer would be 2019, April!
I really doubt that 75% of all Numista collectors who own this banknote, have the it from 2005, so I hope this helps!
Take care! Ioan.
