Catalog
2 Lire
| Issuer | Banca Toscana di Anticipazioni e Sconto |
|---|---|
| Year | 1870 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Lira |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | LIRE DUE LIRE DUE LIRE DUE 2 LIRE 2 I BONI SI RICEVONO IN PAGAMENTO PER QUALSIASI SOMMA E TITOLO E SI CAMBIANO IN VALUTA LEGALE QUANDO SIANO PRESENTATI PEL VALORE DI LIRE 50, 100, 250, 500 E 1000 LIT. G. THUMB, BOLOGNA |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Dry stamp |
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| Comments |
The Banca Toscana di Anticipazioni e Sconto was one of several regional Italian credit institutions operating in the fractious years immediately following unification, when the newly consolidated state had not yet imposed a single monetary framework on its constituent territories. Small-denomination notes like this 2 Lire filled a genuine gap — coin shortages were endemic throughout the 1860s and early 1870s, and minor banks stepped in where the larger issuing banks saw no profit.
Litografia Thumb in Bologna was a commercial lithographic house, not a specialist banknote security printer. The dry stamp was the primary fraud deterrent — embossed directly into the paper without ink, it required physical contact with an official die and could not be reproduced photographically.