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1 Lira
| Issuer | Ministero del Tesoro (Ministry of Treasury), Italy |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#26 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central intaglio vignette of the Augustus of Prima Porta statue, the Roman Emperor rendered in full imperial regalia with right arm raised, set within a rectangular frame with fine guilloche surround. The large numeral "1" appears in each of the four corners against a dense guilloche background, with legal warning text in two panels flanking the lower portion of the central vignette. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Grassi, Porena and Cossu |
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| Comments |
Italy's Treasury Ministry began issuing small-format paper notes in place of coins during the late 1930s as the regime's war preparations drained metal from circulation. The 1939 1 Lira belongs to that substitution wave — metal was needed elsewhere, and coin production for everyday denominations became an expendable priority.
Garrasi designed the series, with production handled entirely domestically by the Istituto Poligrafico. The three-signature format — Grassi, Porena, and Cossu — is consistent across the issue and helps distinguish it from later wartime variants carrying different authorization combinations.