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5 Lire
| Issuer | Consorzio Obbligatorio tra gli Istituti di Emissione (Consortium of Italian Banks of Issue) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1876-1881 |
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| Reference(s) | P#4 |
| Obverse description | The central field carries the denomination "CINQUE LIRE" and "5" in varying typographic styles, flanked at left and right by large guilloche-framed numeral "5" vignettes rendered in graduated brown tones. A Kingdom of Italy coat of arms appears as a translucent underprint at center, printed in ochre behind the black letterpress text block. Series number is positioned at upper right and lower left, with serial number at upper left and lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Consorzio Obbligatorio was a short-lived administrative arrangement, created in 1874 to coordinate the six Italian banks of issue that coexisted after unification — Banca Nazionale, Banca Nazionale Toscana, Banca Toscana di Credito, Banca Romana, Banco di Napoli, and Banco di Sicilia. Rather than unify them under a single central bank, the Italian state compelled them to act collectively, pooling small-denomination issuance under this consortium structure. The arrangement was always uneasy.
The San Teodoro workshop had printed government documents since the papal period and was the natural choice for the new Italian state's fiduciary paper. By 1893 the Banca Romana scandal had destroyed the political case for the consortium model entirely.