1000 Lire Allied Military Currency

Allied Military Currency for Italy was produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing under a joint Anglo-American arrangement, with equivalent notes printed in Britain by Bradbury, Wilkinson for British forces. The American-printed series — this note among them — was introduced following the Sicily landings in July 1943 and declared legal tender at a rate of 100 lire to the dollar, a valuation the Italian government immediately and bitterly contested as artificially favorable to the occupying forces.

The 1000 lire denomination caused particular problems. It was the largest in the AMC series, and Italian authorities argued its volume contributed directly to the black market inflation that ravaged the south through 1944. The Bank of Italy was given no control over issuance quantities.