Italy: Bordighera 20 000 lire

[ZYV]

...I think it is safe to call it a token or maybe a voucher ...

I agree with You.
As for me: before we call an object "coin" or "token" or something like that,
we must  know how this object was used.

I created the theme in hope to find someone, who knows it.

[Prosit]

I hope so too. It is an interesting item.

Dale

.......
I created the theme in hope to find someone, who knows it.

[ZYV]

Dear Dale, thank You for the interest in my theme.

Similar issue from Milano (I spoke of it earlier):
http://numismatica-italiana.lamoneta.it/moneta/W-ME66A/18   

[chrisild]

Makes sense - the art exhibition that was in Bordighera in 1981 (your piece) was in Milano before.

"The largest anthology exhibition ever seen up to that time in Milan, Italy, was dedicated  to Ligabue by Augusto Agosta Tota with an exhibition from November 1980 to January 1981 in the Palazzo dell'Arengario, Salone delle Cariatidi, in Piazza Duomo (The Dome Square). The exhibit was held again in the same year from January to March at the Grand Hotel del Mare in Bordighera, waiting to be transferred to the Civic Museum "Villa Ciani" in Lugano, from the 9th of May to the 28th of June." http://www.csaligabue.it/presentazione_inglese.html

Maybe you could contact the Ligabue Study Center & Archives? They may know about the background ...

By the way, I was not able to read the name of the engraver first, but if that is Mario Vallucci - he also designed several Italian coins: http://mebnet.altervista.org/Libro/mario_vallucci.htm

Christian

[ZYV]

May be this piece was given to donators, who gave money to support this exhibition? 

[Figleaf]

I have been to Bordighera a few times. It doesn't have a casino. It is a touristy, seaside town near the French border. Also, LIT 20 000 is about 10 euros. At the time, there was a great scarcity of especially low denomination Italian coins. Several towns, especially tourist towns, produced plastic tokens in low denominations (in practice, there were no silver coins in circulation in Italy at that time) and tourists, spurred by coin-collecting family and friends took them home, providing some extra income to the town.

My guess is that the piece was made for tourists, intended to take home as souvenirs, possibly with some shops playing along by promising to accept the tokens as payment (with a guarantee from the town, of course) and receiving one once every blue moon. The objective was most probably to generate some extra income for the town. It's your choice whether to consider them circulating tokens or tourist souvenirs.

Peter