Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 Mils
| Issuer | Government of Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Year | 1955-1957 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Mils (0.5) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Green note with a central guilloche medallion enclosing the denomination "500 MILS" in large numerals, flanked by trilingual denomination text in English, Greek (ΠΕΝΤΑΚΟΣΙΑ ΜΙΛΣ), and Turkish (BEŞ YÜZ MIL). A right-side intaglio vignette carries a crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, with a small map of Cyprus positioned below. The issuing authority inscription "ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS" appears at the top, the date at centre, serial number and Commissioner of Currency signature below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS 500 MILS |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
This note was issued under British colonial administration, just as Cyprus was entering the most turbulent period of its modern political history — the EOKA campaign for union with Greece began in April 1955, the same year this series entered circulation. The Government of Cyprus, rather than a central bank, remained the issuing authority throughout, a colonial fiscal arrangement that persisted even as the island moved toward independence in 1960.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the series at their New Malden works in Surrey, not central London despite the "London" credit. A minor distinction, but one that catches out careless catalogers.