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0.05 Lire Vittoria

Issuer Campo Concentramento Prigionieri di Guerra, Vittoria (Sicilia)
Year 1918
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Obverse description Left vignette of Italia seated in armour, holding a spear and shield bearing the Savoy cross, rendered in fine letterpress line engraving against a guilloche underprint showing the denomination '0,05'. Ornate frame with corner medallions bearing '005'; series letter and serial number printed in centre field above large denomination legend 'Buono per L.0.05'. Two manuscript signatures below, dated GENNAIO 1918 at lower left.
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Reverse lettering LA LEGGE PUNISCE
LE FALSIFICAZIONI
LIRE
0.05
Lit. B. Marchisio e Figli, Torino
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Comments

Vittoria, in the Ragusa province of southeastern Sicily, housed one of Italy's WWI prisoner-of-war camps — primarily Austrian and Austro-Hungarian internees. Camp scrip of this kind was a practical administrative solution: it allowed the military authority to control purchasing within the camp canteen while preventing prisoners from accumulating Italian currency that might facilitate escape or bribery.

The Marchisio lithographic firm in Turin handled several such contracts for Italian military facilities during the war. The logistical gap between the Turin printer and the Sicilian camp it served is worth noting — these small-denomination fractional notes traveled further to reach their point of use than most prisoners ever would.

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