150 Lire Credito Artigiano

In the mid-1970s, a severe coin shortage across Italy prompted hundreds of private firms, banks, and municipalities to issue miniassegni — small-denomination paper vouchers that functioned as fractional currency in everyday retail transactions. Il Credito Artigiano, a Milan-based cooperative credit institution serving artisans and small businesses, issued this 150 Lire note as part of that emergency wave. The practice was technically illegal but widely tolerated until the Banca d'Italia moved to suppress it in 1977-78.

Marco Spada & C., a Milanese commercial printer, produced the note — not a security press, which shows in the modest production values. The security border was essentially the only concession to anti-counterfeiting.