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50 Centesimi Sulmona - n.78
| Issuer | Campo di Concentramento Prigionieri di Guerra Fonte d'Amore di Sulmona |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939-1945 |
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| Currency | Lira (1861-2001) |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed voucher in red on plain paper, with a simple rectangular border frame. Text arranged in horizontal registers identifies the issuing camp and denomination; a serial number appears in the upper centre. A circular camp stamp at lower left and a manuscript signature at lower right attest authorization. A large violet "CANCELLED" overprint diagonally crosses the face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CAMPO DI CONCENTRAMENTO PRIGIONIERI DI GVERRA FONTE D'AMORE DI SVLMONA BVONO PER CENT. CINQVANTA BOLLO DEL CAMPO IL COLONNELLO COMANDANTE DEL CAMPO VALE SOLO PRESSO LO SPACCIO DEL CAMPO (Translation: Prisoners of war concentration camp Fonte d'Amore di Sulmona. Good for fifty centesimi. Camp stamp. The colonel camp commander. Valid only at the camp canteen.) |
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| Comments |
Fonte d'Amore was one of the largest Italian prisoner-of-war camps of the Second World War, holding predominantly British and Commonwealth prisoners captured in North Africa. The internal scrip issued there — of which this 50 Centesimi piece is among the lower denominations — served as a controlled currency within the camp canteen system, preventing prisoners from accumulating Italian lire that could fund escape attempts.
Production was entirely local and improvised, which accounts for the considerable variation in paper quality and print registration across the series. Survival rates are low; most scrip was rendered worthless at liberation in 1943 and discarded on the spot.