Catalog
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| 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 |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 1000 1000 SERIES 1943 ISSUED IN ITALY 1000 LIRE ISSUED IN ITALY SERIES 1943 1000 1000 ALLIED MILITARY CURRENCY |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | FREEDOM OF SPEECH FREEDOM OF RELIGION ALLIED MILITARY CURRENCY FREEDOM FROM WANT FREEDOM FROM FEAR |
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| Comments |
The Allied Military Currency lire series was authorized under the Allied Military Authority for use in Italy following the 1943 invasion, intended to replace Axis-issued notes in liberated territories without drawing on U.S. dollar or British sterling reserves. The 1000 Lire denomination, printed by Forbes Lithograph in Boston, was the highest value in the AMC series — a fact that made it particularly useful for large transactions but also controversial among Italian economists who warned, accurately, that flooding the economy with high-denomination military scrip would accelerate inflation.
Italian authorities deeply resented the AMC currency, which they had no control over printing. By 1945, the volume of AMC lire in circulation had contributed measurably to the inflationary spiral that plagued the postwar Italian economy.