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1 Lira
| Issuer | Banca Nazionale nel Regno d'Italia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1869-1873 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a large central medallion vignette with a facing portrait of Italia Turrita, encircled by repeated inscriptions 'UNA' and 'ITALIA'. Four smaller medallions occupy the corners: upper left with a portrait of Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, facing right; upper right with a portrait of Cristoforo Colombo facing left; lower left with a facing portrait of Daniele Manin; and lower right with a portrait of Dante Alighieri facing left. All portrait vignettes are rendered in black, against a guilloche underprint in light green repeating the denomination 'UNA' across the entire surface. |
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| Protection description | Not present. |
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| Comments |
The Banca Nazionale nel Regno d'Italia was itself a provisional institution — Italy had unified only in 1861, and the country still lacked a single central bank, with several regional banks of issue operating simultaneously throughout this period. This 1 Lira note belongs to the fractional currency that effectively replaced small silver coinage hoarded by a public with no faith in the new state's finances.
Dondorf & Naumann were primarily known for playing cards and chromolithographic work; their banknote commissions were a secondary business, and Italian authorities turned to Frankfurt partly because domestic printing infrastructure for secure currency was still underdeveloped in the early Kingdom.