ItalianEastAfricaP2b-100Lire-1938-donatedms f

The lira AOI was a special

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

circulating in

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Seco ...

(''Africa Orientale Italiana'', or AOI) between 1938 and 1941.

Data

When Fascist Italy imposed the

Italian lira The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

in 1936, it decided upon a rate of 3 lire = 1

thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

s were obliged by law to change their coins and banknotes but considering that the

was a

silver coin Silver coins are considered the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–330 ...

with a value 28 times higher than the lira, they began to hide them to retain the metal value. The

Italian government The government of Italy is in the form of a democratic republic, and was established by a constitution in 1948. It consists of legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions, as well as a Head of State, or President. The Italian Constitutio ...

declared this practice illegal, but in 1938 issued a new banknotes "lira AOI" at a better rate of 4.5 lire = 1

for citizens who would willingly exchange their silver coins at the

Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy (Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', informally referred to as ''Bankitalia''), (), is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's curre ...

. Very few people accepted this and in 1939 they were offered a second possibility at a rate 5 lire = 1

. In

Italian Somaliland Italian Somalia ( it, Somalia Italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th centur ...

, the

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

was already circulating. In

, the lira replaced the Ethiopian thaler (issued by the Bank of Ethiopia) whilst in

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

it replaced the

Eritrean tallero The tallero was the currency of Eritrea between 1890 and 1921. It was worth five lire and was subdivided into ten ''decimi'' (sing. ''decimo''). Five lire coins, engraved by Filippo Speranza, feature Umberto I of Italy with the lettering UMBERTO ...

, a silver coin minted in Italy. It also briefly replaced the East African shilling in

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Soma ...

under Italia occupation between 1940 and 1941, when the lira AOI was offered at a rate 13 lire = 1

. The lira AOI was seen as a possible bribery, and it was immediately replaced by the East African shilling in 1941, when the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

gained control of Italy's colonies, at the rate of 1 shilling = 24 lire. The banknotes retired by the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

were later used by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

when it occupied

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

between 1943 and 1945, producing with the AM-lira a high

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

in the country.

Banknotes

In 1938, banknotes were issued for use in Italian East Africa in denominations of 50, 100, 500 and 1000 lire.http://www.pjsymes.com.au/articles/somalia(part1).htm The Banknotes of Somalia by

Peter Symes Peter J. Symes (born 1957) is an Australian researcher into paper money. He is the author of many articles published in the ''International Bank Note Society Journal'' and of several books. From mid 2004 to mid 2006 and from mid 2008 to mid 2012 ...

The designs were the same as those used on Italian notes but the colours of the notes were different and they bore an overprint with the words "Serie Speciale Africa Orientale Italiana". A relic of the lira was the use even in the 1960s of the expression "Lix Lira" (=six lira) for 25 cents.

References

Bibliography

* Mauri, Arnaldo (1967). ''Il mercato del credito in Etiopia'', Giuffrè, Milano 1967. n Italian* Tuccimei, Ercole (1999). ''La Banca d'Italia in Africa'', Presentazione di Arnaldo Mauri, Laterza, Bari, n Italian

External links

{{Authority control Currencies of Somalia Modern obsolete currencies 1938 establishments in the Italian Empire 1941 disestablishments in the Italian Empire

Lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...