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25 Drachmai black front
| Issuer | Ionian Bank Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1889-1898 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in green, dominated by an elaborate guilloche underprint of interlocking floral and foliate scrollwork. The bank name and denomination occupy the central field, flanked left and right by two large circular guilloche medallions each bearing the numeral 25. Serial numbers appear in black at upper left and upper right, with the manuscript prefix notation above each. |
| Reverse lettering | BANQUE IONIENNE LIMITED 25 FRANCS Waterlow & Sons Ld. Bank Note Engravers, London (Translation: Ionian Bank Limited 25 Francs / Drachmai) |
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| Comments |
The Ionian Bank was a British chartered institution operating primarily in the Ionian Islands and later mainland Greece — founded in London in 1839, it held a note-issuing privilege that outlasted most private banks of its kind in the region. By the time this series was issued, the bank had been operating for half a century under a charter that was repeatedly contested by Greek authorities who wanted note-issuing rights consolidated under the National Bank of Greece.
Waterlow & Sons handled the printing, as they did for much of the bank's output throughout the nineteenth century. The "black front" designation distinguishes this from color variants in the same denomination series — a printing distinction, not a later classification.