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50 Lire
| Issuer | Banca d'Italia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938-1939 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Lire |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | SERIE SPECIALE AFRICA ORIENTALE ITALIANA BANCA D'ITALIA LIRE CINQUANTA PAGABILI A VISTA AL PORTATORE IL GOVERNATORE IL CASSIERE LA LEGGE PUNISCE I FABBRICATORI E GLI SPACCIATORI DI BIGLIETTI FALSI OFFICINA DELLA BANCA D'ITALIA - ROMA È VIETATA LA CIRCOLAZIONE FUORI DEI TERRITORI DELL'AFRICA ORIENTALE ITALIANA |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | LIRE 50 LIRE 50 LIRE OTTO BRE 1922 DECRETO MINISTERIALE 19 MAGGIO 1926 ART. 2 DELLA LEGGE 10 AGOSTO 1893 N. 449. |
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| Comments |
The Banca d'Italia began printing its own notes in-house in 1926, ending its long dependence on outside printers. This 50 Lire belongs to that self-printed era, produced during a period when Mussolini's government was managing severe balance-of-payments pressure following the costly intervention in Spain and accelerating rearmament expenditure — pressures that made controlling the note-issuing apparatus politically as well as economically important.
The watermark was the primary security measure, a relatively modest safeguard by late-1930s standards. Counterfeiting of Italian small-denomination notes was a documented problem in this period, particularly in the occupied territories that came with Ethiopia's annexation in 1936.