200 Lire Associazione Novarese Esercenti

Fiduciary notes issued by Italian shopkeeper and merchant associations — the esercenti — proliferated in the late 1970s as Italy suffered a chronic shortage of small-denomination coins. The Banca d'Italia had failed to keep pace with demand, and local chambers of commerce, trade associations, and retailers across northern Italy filled the gap with their own printed scrip. These notes circulated as de facto change within the issuing association's member network, redeemable at participating shops.

The Novara merchants' association issued across several denominations; the 200 Lire piece sits at the upper end of what was typically needed for everyday change-making. Legally ambiguous from the start, the entire category of miniassegni and merchant scrip was eventually suppressed by government order as coin supply normalized in the early 1980s.