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2 Lire
| Issuer | Ministero del Tesoro (Italian Ministry of Treasury) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1894-1898 |
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| In circulation to | 31 December 1906 |
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| Obverse description | Portrait vignette of King Umberto I in military uniform set within an octagonal frame at left, printed in blue-grey intaglio on a fine guilloche underprint. The right half carries the bold letterpress legend 'BUONO di CASSA a corso legale da DUE lire' over an ornate scrollwork background, with serial numbers appearing at upper and lower right and the royal decree reference along the left margin. Two manuscript signatures appear at bottom centre, attributed to the Cassiere Speciale and the Delegato della Corte dei Conti, beneath the issuing authority inscription 'REGNO D'ITALIA'. |
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| Reverse lettering | DECRETO MINISTERIALE 22 FEBBRAIO 1894 REG.TO ALLA CORTE DEI CONTI IL 23 FEBBRAIO 1894 I BUONI DI CASSA POSTI IN CIRCOLAZIONE SONO GARANTITI E COPERTI PER INTERO DA MONETE DIVISIONALI ITALIANE D'ARGENTO, IMMOBILIZZATE NELLE TESORERIE DELLO STATO, E DESTINATE ESPRESSAMENTE A QUESTO SCOPO OFF. GOV. CARTE-VALORI . TORINO |
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| Comments |
Italy's Treasury Ministry issued small-denomination "biglietti di Stato" directly — bypassing the Banca d'Italia entirely — as a practical solution to the chronic shortage of fractional coinage in circulation during the 1890s. These notes were effectively forced substitutes for silver, which had been disappearing from everyday commerce since the Latin Monetary Union's silver policies destabilized small-denomination metallic supply across member states.
The Officina Governativa Carte-Valori in Turin produced them in-house, which was unusual — most Italian paper money of the period was contracted to foreign security printers. At 82 × 45 mm, the format was deliberately coin-like in its psychology, if not its dimensions.
Pick 35 spans a four-year print window, and dating individual examples within that range is rarely straightforward.