Catalog
100 Kronen
| Issuer | Città di Fiume (Free State of Fiume) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The Hungarian side of an Austro-Hungarian Bank 100 Korona note (Pick 12), dated 2 January 1912, bearing the large Hungarian legend SZÁZ KORONA within a decorative guilloche underprint in multicolour. A female portrait vignette in an oval frame occupies the right portion, while the left field carries the text OSZTRÁK-MAGYAR BANK and printed signatures. A circular handstamp reading CITTÀ DI FIUME with the year 1920 has been applied to the left side of the note in accordance with the decree requiring overprints to be placed on the Hungarian face, as Fiume was part of the Hungarian crown lands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | SZÁZ KORONA TÖRVÉNYES ÉRCZPÉNZT BÉCS 1912 JANUÁR 2ÁN OSZTRÁK-MAGYAR BANK CITTÁ DI FIUME 1920 |
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| Comments |
Fiume's status in 1920 was genuinely anomalous — Gabriele D'Annunzio had seized the city the previous September with a column of nationalist irregulars and held it against the wishes of both Italy and the Allied powers. The Free State issued its own currency partly as an assertion of sovereignty, partly out of practical necessity, as Austrian krone notes circulated alongside overstamped Italian issues in a monetary environment that was chaotic even by postwar Adriatic standards.
The Regency of Carnaro, as D'Annunzio styled his administration, collapsed in late December 1920 when the Italian army shelled his headquarters — the so-called "Bloody Christmas." Notes issued during those fifteen months carry an expiration date measured in artillery rounds.