I've been collecting this note for more than a decade, but my evaluation of this note has never changed, that is, this Italian 1967 100,000 lira, also known as manzoni, is undoubtedly the best italian banknote. At that time, I was deeply moved by the portrait carving of this banknote, which is even more delicate and beautiful than the German 1000 marks. Looking at it now, I think this banknote is even more beautiful, and the whole banknote exudes an elegant temperament, which is very much in line with the way Italy looks in people's hearts. Of course, this note was really expensive at the time, and there are so many parallel goods on this note that it is not easy to buy a really good look, this blog post was completed more than ten years ago, and now it is very informative, which also makes me very happy, because many articles have obvious timeliness, and paper money articles are eternal in terms of timeliness: no matter when people are ready to collect this banknote, this article has reference significance.
This is the finest banknote in Italy.
In the past, the feeling of Italian banknotes basically stayed in the last edition of the eurozone, because the last edition was exposed too early, so the impression of Italian banknotes almost stayed in 2007, and since then, I have not bought any paper money that made me shine, and because I prefer those paper money that are permanently preserved and have a face value base, I have little interest in this paper money country that will be completely invalidated in 2012. However, when I first saw this 100,000 LIR, I still called very much, so I naturally did not hesitate to pay for it. This is a classic banknote with top portrait carving, unique design style, and huge face, which also rekindled my interest in classic carving, otherwise, I would inevitably fall into the pursuit of modern style banknotes. This banknote has its own unique side, soft colors, deep cultural heritage, a sense of elegance, looks very comfortable, and, similar to the size of the West German 1000 marks (the size is 174.5MM * 86MM, but the printing area is 159.5MM * 71MM, a large part of which is occupied by white edges), but also makes this banknote have the highest denomination of the atmospheric side. The value of this banknote was very high at the time, equivalent to the income of an Italian for a month (the later maximum denomination of 500,000 lira was only equivalent to 1/5 of the income of italians), and it was also recognized by Italian banknote collectors as the most exquisite banknote in Italian history. And because of the small circulation (this is the smallest circulation of Italian varieties after World War II, the four editions issued a total of only more than 77 million copies, almost 1/3 of the circulation of Italian banknotes in the same period), so the value of this banknote is also the highest in modern Italy.
There are four versions of this note, namely 1967, 1970, 1972 and 1974, of which the first version of 1967 is far rarer than the next three versions, and the price is nearly twice as expensive. Of course, the price of this banknote is high regardless of the version. Nevertheless, it is still very common for this banknote to be brand new, you know, if it is a Nordic country, the price reaches the average price of this banknote, and its rarity will definitely make a lover vomit blood.
(The portrait of Medusa is the emblem of the Bank of Italy, which was changed to a flying lion statue after the inverted three editions, but it is a pity that this emblem is printed, I like this emblem very much, I always feel very spirited)
Beginning with the Italian Inverted Ivy Edition, collectors will be exposed to a new name: Mario Baiardi Mario. Baiadi, the engraver of the portrait part of the banknote, and another name that has been familiar to many Italian banknote collectors in the past: Gionici, who carved the scenic part on the back of the note. There is very little information about Baiadi now, and my current opinion is: first of all, he should be Gionegini's teacher, because the Italian carving skills are passed down from generation to generation, Baiadi has not produced any works since the 70s, so this set should also be one of his last works before retirement, and since then, on Italian banknotes, Gionei has dominated most of the country. Regarding Baiadi's work, almost all the portraits of one of italy's most classic periods (i.e. the inverted four editions) were written by Baiadi: such as the 5K portrait of Columbus, the 10K portrait of Michelangelo, the 50K leonardo da Vinci and the Manzoni introduced in this article, and later Verdi. If Gionic is a master carver, then Baiadi is undoubtedly a master of carving. I'll cover Baiadi's work step by step in future blog posts. What is currently certain is that Baiadi is the finest engraver in Italian history.
The printing style of this 100,000 lira is different from other denominations, the whole banknote is not printed with deep gravure, especially the back, which feels like a lithograph, but in natural light, you can clearly feel the carved lines of the scenery on the back, initially thought it was bathed, and later felt that with such a complete pulp-wrapped banknote, the bath may not be large. It was later conceived that this style was very similar to Japanese paper money: the same was true of Japan's early paper money. So, given some of the strange historical connections between Italy and Japan (such as early Japanese banknotes such as the Empress Shengong and the Great Black Sky God of Wealth were all made by Italian carvers, as well as the two countries' allies during World War II, etc.), I think that the 100,000 lira is likely to be printed by Japan's flat and concave production line, so Italian paper money will not produce chromatic inaccuracies like other countries (this phenomenon is very obvious in Dutch banknotes, such as sunflowers and lighthouses), but it is precisely because of this. The hand feel of this banknote is much worse than that of Western European countries that use deep gravure, which can be described as pros and cons.
The Portrait of Manzoni is the best of all of Baiadi's public works, and at first I thought Leonardo da Vinci was the most classic work in Italy, because after all, his portrait selection already accounted for a large proportion, but I was finally impressed by the infinite charm of Manzoni's top sculpted portraits.
As mentioned earlier, there are two more banknotes carved on one level with a 1,000-mark portrait of West Germany, of which the portrait of Manzoni is one. I think that since I have positioned it on the same level as 1000 marks, its engraving does not need me to repeat it at all. However, from it, he can be deeply fascinated by the carving of this portrait, he does not have the exaggerated beard of Shena, nor the ugly and bizarre appearance of Shena, so without those natural advantages, Manzoni's portrait still has extraordinary sculptural charm, which can see the high level of the carver. This is one of the most exquisite portrait carvings, whether it is the texture of the portrait, or the rich and varied lines of detail, Manzoni is the best in portrait carving, and because of this, it also makes this banknote the best Italian banknote. Compared with the portrait of Shana, the size of this carved portrait is much smaller, and in the processing of details, there are two styles of Shena: The details of Shana are meticulous, and every place is covered with small dots, while Manzoni's details are aesthetic style, perhaps the lines are not as much as Shena's, but it seems that Manzoni is displayed on the ticket like a real person. In order to show Manzoni's realism, the facial dots are extremely dense, probably more than twice as dense as the portrait of Schena, and the direction of the lines is changeable, making Manzoni's wrinkles real and natural, and the expressions are vivid, especially the eyes, full of charm.
Around the eyes is the most densely packed place, BaiAdi uses a variety of carving techniques to make the flesh between his eyebrows loose and textured, the eyes are full of charm, rich in layers, and after enlarging so many times, you will still find that its dot density is so high, there is no other person like carving can match it, it seems that a top carver, in addition to having the general talent of the artist, but also needs a serious and meticulous work attitude! In general, there are not many portrait carvings of Baiadi, only 7 on Italian banknotes (only 8 if you count the reprints of Columbus), most likely because these portrait carvings occupy most of Baiadi's career, but I think that for an artist, as long as there is one such work, it is enough to make him a well-deserved grandmaster, moreover, is it a full 7? I think that if you have collected Italian banknotes, including portraits of Columbus, Leonardo da Vinci, etc., they are all classic carvings with single beams!
The back shows the Italian scenery, carved by Gionic, with his signature in the lower right corner: I think Italy/Belgium has done a good job in this regard, loves art and respects art, prints the names of designers and engravers on banknotes, and also makes the engravers full of pride when they reminisce about their works in the future, of course, it also makes it more convenient for later collectors to obtain information, you know, it is really difficult to get the name of the German portrait engraver. Overall, I think Gionic is an excellent illustrator, but he is still lacking in portrait carving, and the best of his portrait carvings for Italy is Caravaggio, but this is only a horizontal comparison with his own portrait carving, but compared with Baiadi's portrait carving, the gap is really not on one level. This may be the reason why I was not satisfied with Italian banknotes in the past. In general, because the back side gives me the feeling of a lithograph, coupled with the little use of technology in Italian banknotes, the border around the main picture has also been used in most European countries, so it gives me a very flat feeling. However, the symmetrical layout of left and right still reflects the conservative and traditional side of Italian designers.
(The back of the 100,000 lira shows the scenery of Italy, many European countries, the carving skills have been passed down from generation to generation, the Italian inverted four-edition banknote is also a transitional period for Baiadi and Gionei, after that, Baiadi has no more works, and Gionetino began to become the "soul engineer" of Italian banknotes, in general, I am not very fond of the carving on the back, I always feel a little less aura, Gionei just very calmly expressed what he wanted to express. ）
For collectors who love Italian banknotes and portrait carvings, this is the most classic work in Italy, through the collection of Italian inverted four editions, collectors will feel a completely different side from the last, inverted two and inverted three editions, the process of this edition of Italian banknotes is not complicated, but it can bring collectors a kind of sketch like a plain and simple and direct, designers and engravers have the quality of the artist, so that these simple banknotes look different, it is precisely because of the little dependence on technology, It also allows today's collectors to appreciate them while obtaining the infinite charm of a work of art, rather than the outdated technology.