Tripolitania had been an Italian colony since 1911, but by late 1942 British Eighth Army forces had driven Rommel's Afrika Korps westward through Libya. When Tripoli fell in January 1943, the British military administration needed a functioning currency immediately. These Allied Military Lire — printed in the United States — were introduced to replace Italian colonial issues and stabilize a fractured economy under occupation.
The fixed exchange rate pegged to the pound sterling caused significant black market distortion, a problem the occupying authority consistently underestimated.
Tripolitania had been an Italian colony since 1911, but by late 1942 British Eighth Army forces had driven Rommel's Afrika Korps westward through Libya. When Tripoli fell in January 1943, the British military administration needed a functioning currency immediately. These Allied Military Lire — printed in the United States — were introduced to replace Italian colonial issues and stabilize a fractured economy under occupation.
The fixed exchange rate pegged to the pound sterling caused significant black market distortion, a problem the occupying authority consistently underestimated.