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1 Lira Sulmona - n.78
| Issuer | Campo di Concentramento Prigionieri di Guerra - Fonte d'Amore di Sulmona |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939-1945 |
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| Value | 1 Lira (1 ITL) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Plain letterpress print in black on cream paper, with a simple ruled border frame. Central text reads BUONO PER LIRE UNA flanked by a circular camp stamp at left and a manuscript signature of the camp commander at right. A large violet CANCELLED handstamp is applied diagonally across the face. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse is blank, with aged cream paper showing foxing and staining consistent with wartime storage conditions. |
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| Comments |
Fonte d'Amore was one of Italy's largest prisoner-of-war camps, operational from 1940 and holding primarily British and Commonwealth prisoners captured in the North African campaigns. The camp scrip issued there — of which this is an example — functioned as a controlled internal currency, preventing detainees from accumulating Italian lire that could fund escape attempts or black market dealings with local civilians. The system was mandated under the same Geneva Convention frameworks both sides nominally observed.
Printed locally in Sulmona rather than through any central military printing authority, the production quality is accordingly modest. Surviving examples are fragile; the paper stock used at Fonte d'Amore was not made for longevity.