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1000 Lire
| Issuer | Banca d'Italia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1896-1899 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Intricate dark red intaglio design on cream paper, with the large stylised monogram 'M' forming the centrepiece of the note flanked by the bold inscription 'BANCA D'ITALIA' and 'MILLE LIRE' in letterpress. An allegorical winged figure stands to the left of the central vignette, while elaborate acanthus-scroll guilloché borders frame the entire face, incorporating classical architectural motifs, putti, and heraldic devices including the Savoy arms at top centre. Serial numbers appear in two positions, with signature lines for 'IL GOVERNATORE' and 'IL CASSIERE' beneath the central panel, and a small oval portrait medallion in red underprint at the lower centre. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 1000 LIRE 1000 LIRE ART. 2 DELLA LEGGE 10 AGOSTO 1893 N. 449 |
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| Comments |
Barbetti and Ballarini were the dominant creative partnership behind Banca d'Italia's late nineteenth-century high-denomination engraving work, and this 1000 Lire sits at the peak of that collaboration. The Officina Carte-Valori, operating under what would later consolidate into the Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, had by this point developed a distinctly Italian intaglio idiom — denser and more baroque in its tonal work than the English school of the same period.
At this denomination, the note circulated almost exclusively between banks and major commercial houses. Ordinary retail transactions rarely touched a 1000 Lire note in 1890s Italy, which is precisely why surviving examples with genuine handling wear are the more historically honest specimens.