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10 Lire Passo Corese; PoW Camp 54
| Issuer | Campo Concentramento P.G. N. 54 (Italian Prisoner of War Camp 54, Passo Corese) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939-1945 |
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| Currency | Lira (1861-2001) |
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| Obverse description | Cream paper with black letterpress typography throughout; the camp designation 'Campo Concentramento P.G. N. 54' and military postal reference 'P.M. 3300' are set at the top, separated from the central denomination block by a horizontal rule. The denomination 'Buono da 10 lire' is printed in large bold letterpress at centre, with the validity restriction clause in smaller italic type below. A circular blue ink handstamp of the camp authority is applied to the lower left, accompanied by a manuscript serial number, while a handwritten signature of the Camp Commandant appears to the lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse is plain, unprinted cream paper left blank by the issuing authority, with pencilled handwritten notations in mirror script added in manuscript, likely by a prisoner or subsequent holder. |
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| Comments |
Passo Corese, roughly 40 kilometers north of Rome, held Allied prisoners — predominantly British and Commonwealth soldiers — captured during the North African campaigns. Camp 54 was one of several Italian P.O.W. installations that issued internal scrip to manage canteen transactions and prevent hard currency from circulating among prisoners. These notes had no value outside the wire.
The handstamp was the camp's only real security measure, applied to distinguish authorized scrip from counterfeits produced by prisoners — a genuine and documented problem in several Italian camps. When Italy armisticed in September 1943, many inmates simply walked out, and what scrip remained scattered or was abandoned.