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10 Piastres Italian occupation WWII
| Issuer | Cassa Mediterranea di Credito per l'Egitto |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Classical bust of Apollo in right-facing profile occupies the right vignette, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. To the left, the large numeral '10' appears in both Western and Arabic Eastern-Arabic script as a central underprint motif, flanked by bilingual text reading 'BUONO PER DIECI PIASTRE' in Italian and the Arabic equivalent. The issuer's name 'CASSA MEDITERRANEA DI CREDITO PER L'EGITTO' is inscribed across the top, with the Arabic translation below, and a legal tender clause runs along the lower margin in both languages. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CASSA MEDITERRANEA DI CREDITO PER L'EGITTO صندوق البحر المتوسط التسليفي لمصر BUONO PER DIECI PIASTRE هذا البنو سيوي عشرة قروش فضاع IL PRESENTE BUONO DEVE ESSERE ACCETTATO IN PAGAMENTO PER IL SUO VALORE NOMINALE 10 |
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| Comments |
The Cassa Mediterranea di Credito per l'Egitto was a purely notional institution — it never operated a bank in Egypt, because Italy never actually occupied the country. Rommel's advance stalled at El Alamein in 1942, and these notes were printed in Rome for a conquest that never came. The series was intended as ready-made occupation currency to be introduced the moment Alexandria fell.
They were captured in quantity by Allied forces and remain more common as curiosities than as genuine circulating relics. No authenticated evidence exists of these notes passing in trade on Egyptian soil.