Catalog
30 Lepta
| Issuer | Ionian Islands, United States of the (1815-1864) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1834-1862 |
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| Reference(s) | KM#35, Pr#9-17 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | Seated figure of Britannia faces left, helmeted and draped in classical robes, holding a long sceptre or trident upright in her right hand and resting her left hand on her knee. A large shield bearing a spoked wheel device leans against her side, and she is seated on a plinth. The legend BRITANNIA. arcs across the upper field in Latin capitals. A plain linear border frames the design. |
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| Additional information |
The Ionian Islands operated under British protection from 1815, a political arrangement that produced one of the more unusual coinages in Greek numismatic history — a British-administered Greek-speaking state issuing silver denominated in lepta. The protectorate's currency was pegged to the Spanish dollar at a fixed rate established by the 1819 currency ordinance, giving these small silvers a defined role in regional Mediterranean trade rather than purely local exchange.
The series ran across multiple die pairs catalogued as Pridmore 9 through 17, with documented variation in the positioning of date numerals across the emission years.