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| Issuer | Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane |
|---|---|
| Year | 1976-1977 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Lira |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | L'ISTITUTO CENTRALE DELLE BANCHE POPOLARI ITALIANE SOCIETÀ PER AZIONI - SEDE LEGALE ROMA - DIREZIONE GENERALE MILANO - CAPITALE VERSATO E RISERVE AL 12-4-1976 L. 17.545.065.825 PAGHERÀ A VISTA PER QUESTO ASSEGNO CIRCOLARE LIRE CENTO A COOP. ROMAGNA MARCHE Emesso da BANCA POPOLARE DI RAVENNA in rappresentanza dell' Istituto Centrale delle banche Popolari Italiane visto: ISTITUTO CENTRALE DELLE BANCHE POPOLARI ITALIANE Ravenna, 27 giugno 1977 BANCA POPOLARE DI RAVENNA |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | IL PRESENTE ASSEGNO PUÒ CIRCOLARE SOLTANTO IN ITALIA GIRATE COOP. ROMAGNA MARCHE IL PRESIDENTE 100 |
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| Comments |
The Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane was not a central bank in any governmental sense — it functioned as a cooperative central body for Italy's network of popular banks, the banche popolari. These small-denomination notes from the mid-1970s were issued as fiduciary money during Italy's chronic coin shortage, a shortage so severe that shops, transit operators, and businesses routinely substituted telephone tokens, candy, and privately issued scrip rather than make change in lire.
The Banca d'Italia tacitly permitted this parallel circulation rather than address the underlying minting bottleneck. Notes of this type were redeemable only within the issuing institution's network, which created practical problems for anyone holding them outside that system.