Sisters' £72k windfall turns sour as Italian bank refuses exchange

Two sisters found over 150 million lire, the old Italian currency, in their grandfather's basement after their father's death. This amounts to over £72,200. The residents of Genoa decided to exchange the old banknotes for the euro. Contact with the Central Bank of Italy was necessary, but they had problems succeeding.

According to "Südtirolnews," cited by the German portal, two sisters in Genoa found 158 million old lire in their late grandfather's basement, which corresponds to about £72,200.

After their father, who had inherited the grandfather's apartment, died, the women decided to clean the basement. During the cleaning, they came across large bundles of old lire among the crates, suitcases, and an old dresser—as reported by focus.de.

However, the joy did not last long. The sisters approached the Italian central bank with a request to exchange the old banknotes for euros. The bank, as reported by Radiolinja.it, informed the sisters that the exchange was no longer possible more than ten years after the introduction of the euro.

According to "südtirolnews.it", the sisters do not intend to accept this. They plan to write a letter to the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and the governor of the Bank of Italy, Fabio Panetta. The women hope that something can be done about it. Otherwise, the savings of many grandparents and parents who collected lire throughout their lives will be in vain.

The euro was introduced on 1 January 1999 as a currency in non-cash form in countries participating in the European Union. However, euro banknotes and coins did not appear until 1 January 2002, allowing the physical use of the euro as a means of payment in some EU countries.