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5 Rupie
| Issuer | Banca d'Italia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain cream field with a large unprinted oval at left serving as a counterpart to the obverse. Arabic text in black letterpress occupies the right portion of the note, stating the denomination and silver backing guarantee. At the base, a rectangular panel carries the Italian royal decree reference in small letterpress. |
| Reverse lettering | بلاد الصومال الإيطالية تقابل هذه الورقة خمس روبيات فضة محفوظة في خزينة البنك REGIO DECRETO 13 MAGGIO 1920 - N. 600 |
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| Comments |
Italian Somaliland's currency was administered through Banca d'Italia, but these notes were a colonial instrument grafted onto a territory where the Indian rupee had long dominated trade — the choice of "Rupie" rather than Lire was a deliberate concession to commercial reality along the Benadir coast. Italy had only consolidated formal control over the region in the years following the 1905 buyout from the Filonardi and then Società Anonima companies.
The series is scarce in any grade; circulation conditions in the Horn of Africa were punishing on paper, and surviving examples routinely show heavy tropical deterioration.