5 Lire Passo Corese - n.54

Camp 54 at Passo Corese, north of Rome, was one of the larger Italian prisoner-of-war camps operating under the Regio Esercito during the Second World War. Internal camp currency of this kind was issued specifically to prevent prisoners from accumulating Italian lire that could be used to bribe guards or fund escape attempts — a policy applied across the Italian camp system following directives that broadly mirrored German Lagergeld practice.

The Campbell reference for this series is sparse, and surviving denominations from Campo 54 turn up infrequently outside Italian specialist sales. Paper quality in these issues varied considerably depending on when in the war they were produced.