Banknote Museum of The Ionian Bank BANKNOTE MUSEUM OF THE IONIAN BANK

THE IONIAN BANK

The first Ionian Bank building in .

The Ionian Bank branch in Argostoli, Cefalonia.

he chronicle of the founding of the Ionian Bank began in 1833, T when Lord Nugent, the philhellene High Commissioner of the United States of the , took the initiative of seeking finan- cial support for the agrarian economy from the State, by recommend- ing that a special fund be set up from the state budget surplus in the amount of £126,500. This proposal, however, was not implemented The Ionian Bank branch in . owing to strong objections for financial and political reasons, both in

BANKNOTE MUSEUM OF THE IONIAN BANK 2 The Ionian Bank building at 14 Pesmazoglou St, .

investors, was covered by British bankers and City merchants headed by John Wright.

After complex negotiations, on 23 October 1839, by the Act of Decree of the Most Excellent the Senate of the United States of the Ionian Islands, which was ratified by the High Commissioner, the Bank acquired legal substance under the name Ionian Bank, together with the exclusive right to issue banknotes in the Ionian Islands for twenty years. On 2 March 1840, the bank went into operation in Corfu, on 8 May 1840 in Zakynthos and on 18 August of the same year in Cefalonia. A few years Act of the Senate establishing the Ionian Bank, Corfu, later, in 1845, branches were opened in Athens and 23 October 1839. . In 1860, just four years before the Ionian Islands were incorporated into the Hellenic Kingdom, the issuing privilege was renewed for the Ionian Islands and in England, causing Lord Nugent to resign in another 20 years. In compliance with the terms of 1834. the Treaty of London, the Ionian Bank retained its issuing privilege in ; it was renewed twice, In December of 1835, Lord Nugent's successor, Sir Howard Douglas, in 1880 and 1905, before being abolished defini- instead of instituting state financing for the economy, submitted a tively in 1920. documented report about the foundation of a “Bank of the United States of the Ionian Islands”. Its share capital was set at £188,888, divided into After union with Greece, the Ionian Bank continued 4088 shares of £25 each which, owing to the reluctance of the local its activity by establishing branches not only in

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THE IONIAN BANK

Greece, but also in other places in which Greeks lived. Under the chairmanship of Sir John Stavridis, Consul General of Greece in London for many years and loyal friend and associate of Eleftherios Venizelos, the Ionian Bank expanded into the terri- tories liberated as a result of the Balkan Wars in 1912-13.

The financial crisis of the interwar period did not leave the Ionian Bank untouched, although it man- aged to survive the Great Depression, and in 1939 bought out the Popular Bank owned by the Loverdos Five-colonati banknote, Cefalonia, 16 June 1860. brothers.

During the Nazi Occupation of Greece in World War II, the Ionian Bank operated under the supervision merged with the Popular Bank, thereby creating the Ionian and of an Italian and later a German sequestrator. Its Popular Bank. survival was made possible by the activities of its branches in . In 1975, when the Commercial Bank Group was nationalised, the Ionian and Popular Bank also devolved to the Greek State. In 1957, the Ionian Bank was bought out by the Commercial Bank group, together with its 24 In 1999, the Ionian and Popular Bank was bought out by the Alpha branches throughout Greece (the six in Cyprus Credit Bank, and in the following year, with the merging of the two devolved to the Chartered Bank, while the eight in banking institutions, the second largest commercial bank in Greece Egypt were nationalised by Nasser). A year later it came into being under the name .

BANKNOTE MUSEUM OF THE IONIAN BANK 4 THE BUILDING

he Ionian Bank Banknote Museum is housed in T the building that once accommodated the first main branch of the Ionian Bank in Corfu, which is in the centre of the city, right next to the church of St Spyridon, in the square of the same name. It was built to plans by the top Corfiot architect Ioannis Chronis in about 1845-46. The contract to purchase the state property on Sterna Square (later Theotokis and now Heroes of the Cypriot Struggle Square) bears the date 3 October 1844. In the year after, a supplementary lot was purchased on the Square, opposite the church of the Faneromeni (Our Lady of Strangers). The façade of the two-storey building has a tripartite division, with a temple-like pedi- ment, spare decoration and a severe Ionic style, possibly upon recommendation by the British found- er-owners. The ground floor has always operated as a bank (today Alpha Bank), while the first floor, on Banknote Museum of the Ionian Bank. which the banknotes are exhibited, used to be the bank manager's quarters. In September of 1981, the Banknote Museum opened its doors officially for the first time. In 2004, in view the Credit Bank, the decision was made to renovate the building and of the 165th anniversary of the founding of the Ionian radically restructure the Collection in accordance with modern museo- Bank and the 125th anniversary of the founding of logical precepts.

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THE MUSEUM The Museum is housed on the first floor of the building and occupies four halls. In the first three halls, all Greek banknotes from 1822 to 2002 I Hall

all I is devoted to the 19th century, H beginning with the revolutionary Bonds of the Provisional Government of Greece, which are in grossi and were issued by virtue of the first law passed by the Assembly at Epidaurus on 18 January 1822. We then encounter the phoenixes, the monetary unit established by the first Governor of Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias in 1831; continuing on, we see the drachma established as the currency of the Hellenic Kingdom, and the first banknotes issued during the reigns of Otto and George I. In the same hall is a display case contain- ing banknotes from the privileged Bank of Epirus and Thessaly in 1882, as well as the Bank of Crete in 1899.

BANKNOTE MUSEUM OF THE IONIAN BANK 6 are exhibited, while the fourth hall is dedicated to the Ionian Bank banknotes and their long history.

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II Hall

all II includes banknotes and proofs H issued by the National Bank from 1901 to 1928, at which time the privilege of issu- ing and circulating banknotes was defini- tively transferred to the Bank of Greece.

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III Hall

all III is divided into two parts. In the H first part are exhibited the banknotes issued by the Bank of Greece from 1928 to 2002, at which time the euro replaced the drachma. Starting from the marked ban- knotes of 1928, all issues and proofs pro- duced by the Bank of Greece are present here, covering the interwar period, the Occupation, reconstruction, the reign of Pavlos, dictatorship and democracy; the last banknote chronologically is the two- hundred drachma note issued in 1996.

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III Hall

n the second part of the same hall are I the banknotes issued in Greece by the various occupation authorities during World War II: Italian, German, Bulgarian and British. There are likewise miscellaneous “local issues” that circulated during the same period in the Greek provinces, owing to the special conditions and difficulties of transporting money: Kalamata, Nafplio, Trikala, Agrinio, Corfu, Cefalonia and Ithaca.

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IV Hall

all IV contains all banknotes and proofs H put into circulation by the Ionian Bank from 1840 to 1920: shillings and pounds (1840), colonata (1860), and drachmas (1865-1920). There are also quite a few of the metal plates used for printing ban- knotes and Ionian Bank shares. In addition to the above, the exhibition in this hall has been enriched with some extremely important documents concern- ing the history of the Bank, among which are: the Founding Document of 1839, loan contracts with the Hellenic State, account books, photographs, cheques and shares, balance sheets, seals, etc.

BANKNOTE MUSEUM OF THE IONIAN BANK 14 BANKNOTE MUSEUM OF THE IONIAN BANK 15 BANKNOTE MUSEUM OF THE IONIAN BANK Ayios Spyridon Square (Plateia Iroon Kypriakou Agona) 49100 CORFU (tel.: 26610 41552)

Open 1st October - 31 March Wednesday to Sunday: 08:00 - 15:00 Monday and Tuesday: Closed

1st April - 30 September Wednesday: 09:00 - 14:00 & 17:30 - 20:30 Thursday: 9:00 -15:00 Friday: 09:00 - 14:00 & 17:30 - 20:30 Saturday: 08:30 - 15:00 Sunday: 08:30 - 15:00 Monday and Tuesday: Closed

GENERAL SUPERVISION - TEXTS: Aris Rapidis - Alpha Bank Art Collection Department, TRANSLATION: Judy Giannakopoulou DESIGN: Th. Presvytis - Th. Anagnostopoulos, PRODUCTION: Peak Advertising September 2009