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5 Piastre Italian occupation
| Issuer | Cassa Mediterranea di Credito per il Sudan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Rome, Italy (1928-date) |
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| Obverse description | Classical bust of Apollo in intaglio at right, rendered in fine engraving against a dotted guilloche background. The centre of the note carries an oval zero vignette flanked by bilingual text in Italian and Arabic, with decorative foliate underprint. The issuer's name appears across the top in bold letterpress, above the Arabic legend for the Cassa Mediterranea di Credito per il Sudan. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A large intaglio vignette at left portrays a stylised pine cone or artichoke plant with densely layered scales, set against radiating lines. The right portion of the note repeats the bilingual issuer name and denomination text within a guilloche border, with an oval zero vignette at centre. Zero serial number placeholders appear at lower left and lower right, indicating this is a specimen or unissued example. |
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| Comments |
The Cassa Mediterranea di Credito per il Sudan was one of several occupation credit institutions Italy established to manage currency in territories taken during Mussolini's East African campaigns. Sudan here refers to Italian-occupied Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, briefly held in 1940 following Italy's offensive from Eritrea and Abyssinia — the occupation collapsed within months when British and Commonwealth forces pushed back in early 1941.
Given that window, very few of these notes entered meaningful circulation. The series was essentially overtaken by the military reversal before it could function as intended.