Catalog
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| Issuer | Banco di Sicilia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1976-1977 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 105 × 65 mm |
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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 |
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| Reverse lettering | BANCO DI SICILIA vale lire 100 BANCO DI SICILIA il presente titolo può circolare soltanto in italia F.I.P.E (Translation: Bank of Sicily Value 100 Lire Bank of Sicily This title (note) may be circulated only in Italy.) |
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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.