Miniassegno

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Miniassegno issued by the Credito Varesino bank in Varese , August 1977

Miniassegni ( Singular Miniassegno , Italian for Minischeck ) were a type of emergency money in Italy in the late 1970s. At the time, coins were scarce and business owners had to give change in the form of candy, postage stamps , telephone stamps or public transport tickets. To remedy this, banks issued small-format checks between 1975 and 1978 that were used in place of coins.

history

In the 1970s there was an ongoing shortage of coins in Italy as the state mint in Rome was technically completely out of date and could not meet the demand for lire coins. This is why business people and banks resorted to the idea of ​​issuing small-format checks, which had already proven themselves in 1966 after the abolition of the silver 500 lire coin for a short transition period until the introduction of a 500 lire note. The first Miniassegni were published on December 10, 1975 by the Istituto Bancario San Paolo with a value of 100 lire . A little later, numerous banks in Italy (and San Marino ) followed suit with the issue of such mini-checks in denominations of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 lire. The checks got their name because they are smaller than normal bank checks.

Since the issue of banknotes is an exclusive right of the central banks , the form of a bank check related to private individuals or companies was chosen, which could be redeemed by anyone (after endorsement on the back of the Miniassegni) and therefore found general acceptance as a means of payment for small amounts. The equivalent of the Miniassegni had to be deposited in full with the central bank, so there was no money creation .

There was a real spate of expenses within a very short time. There are more than 830 different basic types of 42 banks and savings banks known, which collectors further differentiate according to the respective company and print data. Miniassegni worth an estimated 200 billion lire were in circulation, a significant portion of which was never redeemed. Similar to the German serial notes from the period after the First World War , some banks issued elaborately designed, colorful notes that were specially made for collectors and often only had very small editions.

The miniassegni disappeared from circulation towards the end of 1978, when the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato issued sufficient coins to meet the need for change.

Issuing banks

The following banks and savings banks issued Miniassegni between 1975 and 1978:

  • Banca Agricola Commerciale di Reggio Emilia,
  • Banca Popolare di Matino e Lecce,
  • Banca Antoniana,
  • Banca Belinzaghi,
  • Banca Calderari e Maggioli,
  • Banca Cattolica del Veneto ,
  • Banca del Salento,
  • Banca popolare del Montefeltro e del Metauro,
  • Banca di Credito Agrario Bresciano,
  • Banca del Friuli,
  • Banca di Credito Agrario di Ferrara,
  • Banca di Trento e Bolzano,
  • Banca Industriale Gallaratese,
  • Banca Popolare di Bergamo,
  • Banca Popolare di Crema,
  • Banca Popolare di Lecco,
  • Banca Popolare di Milano ,
  • Banca Popolare di Novara,
  • Banco di Chiavari e della Riviera Ligure,
  • Banca San Paolo di Brescia,
  • Banco di Napoli,
  • Banco di Sicilia,
  • Banco Ambrosiano ,
  • Banco di Santo Spirito,
  • Banco Lariano,
  • Cassa di Risparmio di Biella,
  • Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo,
  • Cassa di Risparmio di Jesi,
  • Cassa di Risparmio del Veneto,
  • Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo,
  • Cassa Rurale ed Artigiana di Cantù,
  • Cassa di Risparmio di Trento e Rovereto,
  • Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia,
  • Credito Italiano ,
  • Credito Artigiano,
  • Credito Varesino,
  • Istituto San Paolo di Torino,
  • Istituto Bancario Italiano,
  • Istituto Centrale di Banche e Banchieri,
  • Banca Provinciale Lombarda,
  • Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane,
  • Istituto di Credito delle Casse Rurali e Artigiane,
  • Banca Sella.

literature

  • Alberto Gullino, Sergio Boasso: Catalago euro-unificato dei Mini-Assegni . 368 pp., Alfa Edizioni publishing house, Turin 2002, ISBN 978-88-88032-08-5
  • Hans Magnus Enzensberger : Italian debauchery. The coin , in: Oh Europe! Perceptions from seven countries. With an epilogue from 2006 , Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1987, pp. 86-102
  • Adelmo Manna: I delitti contro la fede pubblica e l'economia pubblica. Wolters Kluwer, Milan 2010, pp. 99-100, ISBN 978-88-5980420-8

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 500 Lire Miniassegni from 1966
  2. ↑ Newspaper article by Paolo Manazza at www.collezioni-f.it , accessed on October 21, 2013