50 lire 1874
About This Note
An attractive 50 lire note from 1874 issued by the Credito Agricolo Industriale Sardo, a Sardinian agricultural credit institution. The front features classical portraiture with a bearded male figure in a Corinthian helmet and a female profile in traditional dress, framed by ornate salmon-pink decorative borders. The note displays moderate wear consistent with its age and circulation, grading VF, with visible aging patina and creasing typical of genuine 19th-century currency.
Common. Regional Italian agricultural credit notes from this period were issued in substantial quantities to facilitate rural credit and development. While Sardinian issues are less common than mainland Italian notes, the Credito Agricolo Industriale Sardo operated as an established institution for several decades, suggesting reasonable print runs. No historical record indicates this was a short-lived issuer or that these notes were recalled. The VF condition and specific serial number (0128) suggest this note survived but experienced normal circulation. Regional agricultural credit notes typically remain affordable and accessible to collectors.
This note was issued during the early years of unified Italy's agricultural modernization efforts, following the Law of June 21, 1868, which established agricultural credit institutions across the regions. The classical imagery—featuring a Corinthian-helmeted warrior and a figure with a wheeled cart or oxen—reflects the Sardinian institution's focus on promoting both agricultural and industrial development in the post-unification period. The legal text printed on the reverse underscores the government's regulatory framework protecting these agricultural bonds from counterfeiting and fraud.
The obverse features a neoclassical design divided by a central green '50' denomination in ornate framing. Two portrait medallions flank this central element: on the left, a bearded male figure wearing a Corinthian helmet (suggesting a classical warrior or allegorical representation of strength/defense) and holding a spear or staff; on the right, a female classical profile (likely representing agriculture, commerce, or industry) with the inclusion of a wheeled cart drawn by oxen, symbolizing agricultural productivity and rural labor. The reverse displays a large circular central medallion containing a classical male profile portrait facing right, surrounded by dense geometric rosette patterns and legal text in two rectangular panels. Dense ornamental borders of geometric patterns frame all elements. The dominant salmon-pink and cream color scheme, combined with fine line engraving throughout, creates the characteristic appearance of mid-19th-century Italian regional currency.
Front: 'SERIE A' (Series A), Serial number '0128' (appears twice), 'Credito Agricolo Industriale Sardo' (Agricultural Industrial Credit of Sardinia), 'Cinquanta Lire' (Fifty Lire), 'CAGLIARI' (city of issue), 'Il Direttore' (The Director), 'Cassiere' (Cashier). Back: 'Legge 21 Giugno, 1868 Art.12. Le disposizioni delle leggi penali intorno ai reati di alterazione, frode, falsità e falsificazione dei titoli del debito pubblico italiano, sono estese anche ai buoni agrari, emessi dagli istituti di credito agrario.' (Law of June 21, 1868 Art.12. The provisions of criminal laws concerning crimes of alteration, fraud, forgery and falsification of Italian public debt securities are also extended to agricultural bonds issued by agricultural credit institutions.) Repeated denomination '50' and 'CINQUANTA' (Fifty) throughout both sides.
Intaglio engraving (copper or steel plate engraving). The fine detail visible in the portraits, geometric patterns, and repeated security elements—along with the characteristic line-work observed in the visual analysis—is consistent with intaglio printing technology standard for European currency of this period. The density and precision of the ornamental patterns and the uniform ink application indicate professional security printing by an established printer, likely an Italian or European security printing house contracted by the Sardinian credit institution.
This note is identified as Pick S927 (Sardinian catalog). Key identifying features include: Series A designation, serial number 0128, Cagliari (Sardinia) as place of issue, and the specific design with classical warrior and agricultural female portraits. The 1874 date and issuing institution 'Credito Agricolo Industriale Sardo' are definitive identifiers. Varieties for this issue may include different serial number series (A, B, C, etc.) and potentially signature variants of the Director and Cashier officers, though the visual analysis confirms Series A with serial 0128. No overprints or obvious varieties are evident in the observed images.
