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100 Lire Banco di Sicilia
| Issuer | Banco di Sicilia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1976-1977 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress text in green and brown on a light-green underprint, with an ornamental guilloche vignette at centre. The instrument is cast as a vaglia cambiario (promissory note) issued by the Catania branch of Banco di Sicilia, dated 25 October 1976, and made payable to Società Cattolica di Assicurazione, Verona. Series designation and serial number appear at lower left in brown and black respectively, with the printer's imprint of SIACA Arti Grafiche, Cento (Ferrara) at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Green text on a bicolour beige and green background, with a central vignette rendering a horse-drawn chariot in green intaglio-style print. Restriction clauses limiting circulation to Italy, payee information, and signature(s) are arranged to the left of the vignette. The issuer's name appears twice, framing the composition at upper and lower registers. |
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| Comments |
By the mid-1970s, Italy's chronic small-change shortage had pushed regional institutions and even municipalities into issuing emergency paper substitutes for coins. The Banco di Sicilia's 100 Lire notes belong to that wave — they circulated as fiduciary mini-notes rather than conventional banknotes, filling a gap the Banca d'Italia wasn't moving quickly enough to address.
SIACA Arti Grafiche in Cento, Ferrara, was a specialist in this low-denomination emergency paper, handling similar commissions for other Italian issuers during the same period. These notes are prone to heavy handling wear given their coin-substitute role.