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100 Lire Allied Military Currency
| Issuer | Allied Military Authority |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
| 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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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#M15 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in uniform tan-brown on plain paper, the reverse is dominated by a central rectangular panel bearing the inscription 'ALLIED MILITARY CURRENCY' in bold lettering within a decorative border. Two large oval guilloche frames flank the central panel, each containing the Four Freedoms inscriptions: 'FREEDOM OF SPEECH', 'FREEDOM OF RELIGION', 'FREEDOM FROM WANT', and 'FREEDOM FROM FEAR', rendered in fine typeset lettering against a fine lathe-work underprint background. |
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| Variants | P#M15a - Series 1943, without serif on '1' in serial number prefix P#M15b - Series 1943, with serif on '1' in serial number prefix |
| Comments |
Allied Military Currency for Italy was authorized under the Allied Military Financial Agency and produced ahead of the Sicily landings in July 1943. The Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company in Boston produced these notes under contract, working alongside other US printers who supplied the broader AMC program. The 100 Lire denomination was among the higher values in the series and circulated alongside genuine Banca d'Italia notes at a fixed rate — 100 lire to the dollar, a rate the Italian public considered grossly unfair and which fueled black market activity almost immediately.
Italian authorities and economists complained bitterly that the rate allowed Allied troops to buy up local goods and property at artificially depressed prices. The lira's real purchasing power was far lower, and inflation followed quickly.