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10 Shillings - Zakynthos / Zante
| Issuer | Ionian Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1840 |
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| Currency | Pound |
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| Obverse description | Bilingual layout divided into Greek (left) and English (right) text panels, with the bank title "IONIAN BANK" in an upper border panel and "IONIKIH TRAPEZA" (ΙΟΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ) along the lower border. Oval denomination cartouches reading "ΔΕΚΑ ΣΕΛΙΝΙΑ" and "TEN SHILLINGS" anchor the upper corners, flanking a central vignette of the Ionian state emblem with flags. The note bears a diagonal "SPECIMEN" overprint across both text panels, with manuscript date and number spaces, and the imprint "For the Ionian Bank" above the "SPECIMEN" designation at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | IONIAN BANK IONIKH TRAPEZA ΔΕΚΑ ΣΕΛΙΝΙΑ TEN SHILLINGS ZAKYNΘOΣ ZANTE I promise to pay the Bearer on demand here, TEN SHILLINGS or the Equivalent in Legal Ionian Currency. For the Ionian Bank. SPECIMEN Accountant Manager |
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| Comments |
The Ionian Bank was chartered by British Act of Parliament in 1839, specifically to serve the Ionian Islands then under British protection — making it one of the few private banks granted a monopoly note-issuing privilege over a British protectorate. The 1840 series was the bank's inaugural issue, placing this note among the earliest paper currency to circulate in that territory.
The Zakynthos branch designation matters: the Ionian Islands were administered as separate units, and notes were issued payable at specific island branches rather than centrally. A Zante note was not freely interchangeable at Corfu without practical friction.
The bank continued issuing notes in the islands until the Ionian state's union with Greece in 1864.