Catalog
10 Shillings / Selinia / Şilin
| Issuer | Government of Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917-1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 10 Shillings |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central guilloche underprint in olive-green and blue tones, with an elaborate lace-like border frame. A portrait vignette of King George V in left profile is positioned at the top centre, flanked by the serial number printed twice in blue. The denomination is rendered in three languages — Greek (ΔΕΚΑ ΣΕΛΙΝΙΑ), Ottoman Turkish (اون شلين), and English (TEN SHILLINGS) — above the issuer legend GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS, with the date and the Commissioner of Currency signature appearing in the lower portion. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | Watermarked paper |
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| Comments |
Cyprus came under British administration in 1878 and was formally annexed as a Crown Colony in 1914, following the Ottoman Empire's entry into the war on the German side. Currency arrangements lagged behind the political transition, and this note — issued across a five-year window rather than a single dated series — reflects the improvised nature of colonial monetary administration during and immediately after the First World War.
De La Rue's involvement here is straightforward contract work, nothing technically unusual for the printer. What's worth noting is the trilingual denomination line, acknowledging Greek and Turkish communities simultaneously — a political balancing act that would grow considerably more fraught in subsequent decades.