Romanian Lei

The Romanian “Lei” translates to “lion”. Lei is sub-divided into bani. Since April 1867 (with short periods of disruption), Lei is the national currency of Romania.
The 10-bani note issued in 1917 was the smallest banknote ever issued (2.74*3.78 cm).
Within the framework of a monetary reform in 2005, new banknotes were issued, 1 new Lei was equivalent to 10,000 old Lei. Until that time, the largest banknote denomination was 5,000,000 Lei.
Romania was the first country in Europe to introduce polymer banknotes, as a result of which Romanian banknotes were impossible to tear.
In 2005, coins were also introduced, until that time only banknotes were in use. However, mainly banknotes are in use even today because the coins are of poor quality, they oxidize quickly, and it is very difficult to distinguish them.