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50 Lire Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino
| Issuer | Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1976 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Lire (50 ITL) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central vignette shows a detailed line engraving of the bank's headquarters building on Piazza San Carlo, Turin, rendered in pale green with fine guilloche borders framing the image. The denomination "VALE 50 LIRE" appears in bold yellow-gold letterpress at both left and right of the central vignette. The institution name "ISTITUTO BANCARIO SAN PAOLO DI TORINO" is printed in green along the top margin, with a detachable endorsement stub at left bearing circulation restrictions and girate (endorsement) lines. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
By 1976, Italian commercial banks had long since lost the right to issue currency — that function had belonged exclusively to the Banca d'Italia since the consolidation of note-issuing authority in the nineteenth century. What San Paolo di Torino issued here was not legal tender in any monetary sense but a fiduciary token, a so-called "miniassegno," printed to fill the chronic small-change shortage that plagued Italy through the 1970s when coin hoarding became endemic.
Officina Carte Valori — the security printing arm with deep roots in Italian fiscal document production — applied a watermark to what was functionally a circulating IOU. Thousands of Italian firms and banks issued similar instruments during this period; most were redeemed quickly and pulped, which makes intact survivors more common than their disposable nature might suggest.