Banknote Museum of Alpha Bank

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The Banknote Museum of Alpha Bank (formerly Banknote Museum of the Ionian Bank) is a museum located in Corfu, Greece. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

It exhibits an almost complete collection of the Greek currencies from 1822 to present, about 2000 items. [1] [2] [4] It includes the first treasury bonds issued by the newly liberated Greek State in 1822. It also shows the replacement of the drachma by the euro in 2002. [1] [3] Exhibits include sketches, essays, and printing plates of Greek banknotes. [2] One of its rarest holdings is the 1860 "colonata". [1]

The museum was established in 1981 by the Ionian Bank. It is housed at the former Ionian Bank building, designed by Corfiote architect Ioannis Chronis in about 1840. [1] [2] [4] [5] In 2000 Ionian Bank merged with Alpha Bank. The Banknote Museum was renovated and was reopened in 2005. [1] [2] An additional exhibit hall was added showcasing "Ionian Bank Limited,which was a British venture and the first bank to operate in Greek territory. [1] The museum collection is considered one of the most complete of its kind in the world. [4]

History and exhibits

In 2003 Aris Rapidis, the curator of the museum and a historian, undertook the renovation and coordination of the exhibits to conform to world standards. [1] [2] [6] In 2005 and with the participation of John Keyworth, curator of the Bank of England, the renovated exhibits were opened to the public. [1] [2] It is the first time that such a banknote collection, owned by a Greek bank, has been made available to the general public on a regularly scheduled basis. [1] [2] [5] Between 2005 and 2007 about 10,000 people have visited the museum. [2] In July 2007, an exhibition hall was constructed on the second floor of the museum. [2] The exhibition Greek Costumes – Printed sources of the 16th-20th centuries, jointly organised with the Benaki Museum, became the first event to be showcased at the hall. [2] [3]

The museum contains historical material pertaining to the history of the Ionian Bank and a complete series of the last issues of the national banknotes of the Euro zone member states prior to their replacement by the euro. [2] [3] The manufacturing process of banknotes is included among the exhibits as well as the method of adding a watermark. [5] A workshop details the metal plate engraving process. [5]

Among the museum exhibits are some rare specimens of Greek currency. [1] Exhibits include the first banknotes issued by first Governor of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias. [1] [5] The Kapodistrias notes are simple and feature a rose-coloured Phoenix on white background. [1] The museum collection also contains the pre-Kapodistrian treasury bonds issued by the provisional Greek government in "pisters" or "grossia". [1] [3] [6]

The National Bank of Greece was established in 1841 and the ancient drachma was again designated as the official currency of Greece. [1] [5] The museum exhibits the first banknotes printed by the British printing houses Perkins Bacon or Bradbury Wilkins. [1] The collection includes notes printed by the American Banknote Company, which succeeded the British at the turn of the century. [1] The American company printed Greek banknotes until about 1928. Subsequent to that the Bank of Greece undertook the printing of the currency on its own. [1]

One of the rarest banknotes on exhibit is the one depicting the Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. [1] Designed in 1920, the banknote depicts Hagia Sophia without the Ottoman minarets and was part of the Megali Idea. [1] A few years later the Asia Minor disaster occurred and the currency was never circulated. [1]

Rare art deco-style banknotes, printed in France, some featuring Hermes, allegorically depict the continuity of Greek currency and commerce from ancient times to the 1930s. [1]

The exhibition includes banknotes that were issued during WWII by the occupying Axis forces. [1]

Banknotes issued by the provisional "mountain government" are also exhibited. [1] This currency was valued against the equivalent value of kilograms of wheat. [1] The 100 billion drachma banknote during the hyperinflation years of 1944 is also featured. [1] It remains historically the highest banknote denomination in Greece and after the hyperinflation ended, its value fell to just 2 drachmas. [1]

The museum is located on Aghios Spyridon Square in Corfu city and the admission is free. [1] [6]

The museum also hosted a conference held between June 9–10, 2006, under the title of "The Economic Development of South-eastern Europe in the 19th century". [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 A history of Greece's banknotes Archived February 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Alexandra Koroxenidis - Kathimerini English Edition 18 January 2006
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Alpha Bank Website Archived 2018-06-09 at the Wayback Machine Information on Banknote Museum of Corfu
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Rizospastis newspaper (In Greek)
  4. 1 2 3 To Vima (Translation by Google)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Corfu Cityhall Archived January 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Museum info
  6. 1 2 3 Rotary Club of Corfu (Translation by Google)
  7. ↑ Conference program Archived May 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (PDF)

39°37′29″N19°55′21″E / 39.62472°N 19.92250°E / 39.62472; 19.92250

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