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25 New Drachmai / 25 Francs Ionian Bank
| Issuer | Ionian Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1876-1883 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 25 New Drachmai |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Entirely printed in blue, the reverse is composed of a symmetrical arrangement of five interlocking oval guilloche rosettes of varying sizes set against a plain cream ground, with acanthus-leaf scrollwork connecting the ovals. The central and largest oval carries the inscriptions 'BANQUE IONIENNE' and '25 FRANCS' in two lines, while the four surrounding ovals each bear the numeral '25' in open script. The printer's imprint 'Perkins, Bacon & Co. London' and the note 'Patent Hardened Steel Plate' appear in small letterpress below the central composition. |
| Reverse lettering | BANQUE IONIENNE 25 FRANCS (Translation: IONIAN BANK 25 FRANCS) |
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| Comments |
The Ionian Bank was a British-chartered institution operating primarily in the Ionian Islands and later Greece, occupying a peculiar position as a private bank of issue in territory that passed from British protectorate to Greek sovereignty in 1864. This note's dual denomination — denominated in both New Drachmai and Francs — reflects the bank's need to function across monetary systems simultaneously, serving Greek commerce while maintaining credibility with European trading partners operating on the Latin Monetary Union standard.
Perkins, Bacon & Petch were the dominant security printers of the Victorian period, responsible for the first adhesive postage stamp and a substantial portion of British colonial currency. Their intaglio work for the Ionian Bank series is characteristically fine, though the plates show wear progression across the issue window of this series, which ran into the early 1880s.