Catalog
25 Drachmai
| Issuer | Banque de Crète (Τράπεζα Κρήτης) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901-1915 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | At upper left, a vignette of an ancient Cretan coin with the head of Poseidon; at centre, the coat of arms of the Cretan State within an ornamental frame; at upper right, a portrait of King George I. The denomination and bank name appear in Greek script, with the date and place of payment at Chania inscribed in the lower panel along with signature lines for the Sovereign Commissioner, the Governor, and the Treasurer. |
|---|---|
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| 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.