Catalog
25 Drachmai
| Issuer | Banque de Crète (Τράπεζα Κρήτης) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901-1915 |
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| Size | 158 × 100 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 25 ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΕΙΚΟΣΙΠΕΝΤΕ ΠΛΗΡΩΤΕΑΙ ΕΠΙ Τῌ ΕΜΦΑΝΙΣΕΙ ΕΝ ΧΑΝΙΟΙΣ Τῌ 26 ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΟΥ 1915 Ό `Ηγεμονικὸς `Επιτροπος Ό Διοικητής Ὁ Ταμίας 25 25 BRADBURY, WILKINSON & Co. LD. GRAVEURS, LONDRES (Translation: 25 Bank of Crete Twenty-five Drachmai Paid on appearance In Chania on 26 September 1915 The Sovereign Commissioner The Governor The Treasurer 25 25 Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Ld. Engravers, London) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 25 25 BANQUE DE CRÈTE DRACHMES VINGT CINQ 25 25 BRADBURY, WILKINSON & Co. LD. GRAVEURS, LONDRES (Translation: 25 25 Bank of Crete Twenty-five Drachmai 25 25 Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Ld. Engravers, London) |
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| Comments |
The Banque de Crète was established in 1899 under an unusual international arrangement — the island was nominally still Ottoman territory but under Great Power occupation, administered by the four protecting powers (Britain, France, Italy, Russia) following the insurrections of 1896–1897. The bank was granted a concession to issue currency before Cretan sovereignty was even settled, making its notes among the more politically peculiar instruments of the Aegean.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced the series across a fourteen-year window that spans Cretan autonomy, the Balkan Wars, and eventual union with Greece in 1913 — meaning later-dated examples technically circulated under a government that had already ceased to exist as a separate entity.