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2 Kolonata - Corfu
| Issuer | Ionian Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1843-1869 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of the bank arms flanked by the flags of Great Britain and the Ionian Islands, with guilloche medallions bearing '$2' at left and 'ΔΥΟ' at right. Greek text promise-to-pay inscription occupies the body of the note, with 'ΚΟΛΟΝΑΤΑ ΔΥΟ' in a cartouche at lower left and 'ΚΕΡΚΥΡΑ' at foot. 'ΙΟΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ' runs along the upper border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΙΟΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ $2 ΔΥΟ KERKYPA 18 Αρ° Υπόσχομαι νά πληρώσω πρὸς τόν ἐπιφέροντα ἀμέσως ἐνταῦθα ΚΟΛΟΝΆΤΑ ΔΥΟ ἤ τό ἰσότιμον εις νόμιμον Ἰονικὸν κυκλοφοροῦν Νόμισμα. Διά τὴν Ἰονικὴν Τράπεζαν ΚΟΛΟΝΆΤΑ ΔΥΟ Λογιστής KERKYPA (Translation: Ionian Bank. Two. Corfu. I promise to pay to the bearer immediately two kolonata or the equivalent in legal tender Ionian currency. For the Ionian Bank. Two kolonata. Accountant. Corfu.) |
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| Comments |
The Ionian Bank was chartered by the British Crown in 1839, specifically to operate in the Ionian Islands while they remained a British Protectorate. Its notes circulated under an unusual dual-sovereignty arrangement — the islands were nominally independent but under British protection, which meant this issue had no direct connection to the Greek monetary system even after Greece adopted the drachma in the 1830s. The Kolonata denomination itself reflects local Ionian accounting traditions rather than mainland Greek practice.
Perkins, Bacon & Petch brought their intaglio security printing expertise from banknote and stamp work; the firm had already printed early adhesive postage stamps for Britain by this point. The 26-year date span of the issue is unusually long for a 19th-century colonial banking note.