Catalog
3 Piastres
| Issuer | Government of Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Green and lilac guilloche underprint covers the face, with 'CYPRUS' inscribed across the top panel and the numeral '3' at upper right within a decorative cartouche. The original 'ONE SHILLING' denomination in Arabic script (بر شلين) is crossed out by a horizontal overprint line, replaced by the new value. A serial number and a manuscript signature above the 'COMMISSIONER OF CURRENCY' title appear in the lower portion. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Green and red guilloche underprint with 'GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS' repeated as a security underprint band across the centre. The new denomination is applied in a bold black overprint in three scripts: English 'THREE PIASTRES', Greek 'ΤΡΙΑ ΓΡΟΣΙΑ', and Arabic اوچ غوش, with the date '1st March, 1943.' overprinted below. Large bold numerals '3' appear at upper left and lower left. |
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| Comments |
Cyprus in 1943 was a Crown Colony under full British wartime administration, and the 3 Piastres denomination reflects the island's hybrid monetary reality — officially tied to the pound sterling but still denominated in piastres, a unit with Ottoman roots that Cyprus retained long after the British assumption of administration in 1878. The denomination survived largely because small-value transactions in rural areas were still understood in piastres rather than mils or shillings.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the wartime issues under conditions of tight material rationing. Paper quality in this series is notoriously inconsistent, and notes that saw even moderate circulation frequently show foxing or ink bleed along the text lines — a known characteristic of the 1943 output rather than a grading anomaly.