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Fiume

The Free State of Fiume which is now known as Rijeka, Croatia, was an independent state that existed from 1920 until 1924. It covers an area of 28 kilometers stretching from its rural regions to the north and a corridor to the west that links the country to the Kingdom of Italy. The state was once the small fortified town of Roman Tarsatica governed by the Italian Aquileia bishops. In 1719, Fiume became a self-governing state when it was declared a free port of the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Charles VI. 

Fiume was a semi-autonomous or corpus separatum state within the Kingdom of Hungary having its own council administered by a governor that was appointed by Budapest. Prior to the First World War, it flourished and its population grew to 55,000 from 17,000 when it became the center for export and import activities as well as the boarding point for travelers going to the Americas.  

In 1918, Fiume’s growth and even its corpus separatum state were at risk because of the four-year Allied economic blockade. The Treaty of Paris which was signed on February 10, 1947, resulted in Yugoslavia's acquisition of all of Fiume after World War II.

The Fiume Krone was the free state’s currency. It was introduced by the National Council of Fiume on April 18, 1919, by stamping the old Austro-Hungarian Krone banknotes. In September 1919, a new series of notes stamped on behalf of the Istituto di credito del Consiglio Nazionale with a decree dated October 6th, 1919, was issued. The Fiume Krone was the official currency of the state until September 1920. when the Italian troops in Fiume introduced the Italian lira as the new official currency.  

Despite this, the Fiume Krone continued to circulate until the city was annexed to Italy in February 1924. The final conversion date was set by royal decree n. 235 on February 24th, 1924, to be on April 30th, 1924, with a conversion rate of 0.40 Italian lira for one Corona Fiumana.

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