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10 New Drachmai Ionian Bank
| Issuer | Ionian Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1876-1883 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S140 |
| Obverse description | The Greek royal arms appear at upper left, flanked at upper centre by the bank's circular seal surrounded by crossed flags — including the British Union Jack and the Greek cross banner — within an ornate vignette. A large guilloche oval at right carries the numeral "10" with the legend ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΝΕΑΙ, while the serial number is printed twice at upper left and right. The note body contains a handwritten date and place of issue, two manuscript signatures at lower right, and a large red overprint of the word ΔΕΚΑ across the centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The entire reverse is dominated by a large central guilloche medallion inscribed BANQUE IONIENNE DIX FRANCS, flanked symmetrically on each side by a smaller circular guilloche medallion bearing the numeral "10". The design is executed in brown intaglio on a plain ground with no additional vignettes. Two circular blue ink stamps — one at lower left and one at upper right — are visible as administrative or validation marks applied in circulation. |
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| Comments |
The Ionian Bank was a British-chartered institution, incorporated in London in 1839 and granted the exclusive right to issue banknotes in the Ionian Islands — then a British protectorate. When the islands were ceded to Greece in 1864, the bank retained its note-issuing privilege under Greek law, an unusual arrangement that persisted for decades and left a British commercial bank functioning as a de facto central bank on Greek territory.
Perkins, Bacon & Petch produced the plate using their characteristic intaglio steel-engraving method, developed to resist counterfeiting. The "New Drachmai" denomination reflects the post-unification currency standardization rather than a separate monetary system — the qualifier distinguishing these notes from earlier Ionian issues denominated under the pre-annexation monetary regime.