Coins of British Cyprus

The first people appeared on this island 12,000 years ago. Beginning in the 9th century BC, Cyprus becomes part of Greek civilization . The island's special strategic position in the Mediterranean Sea contributed to the fact that at various periods of its existence it was part of the great empires of the past: Assyrian and Persian, the kingdoms of Alexander the Great and the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty, the Roman and Byzantine Empires .

 

In 1191, the heirs of the ancient French clan Lusignan during the Third Crusade proclaimed the crusader state on the island - the Kingdom of Cyprus, which lasted until 1489. This year, the last ruler of the Kingdom - the noble Venetian Katerina Cornaro abdicated and transferred the island to the Republic of Venice. Among the traditionally Orthodox population of Cyprus, consisting mainly of ethnic Greeks, Catholicism was actively promoted during the reign of the Venetians. 

 

In 1571, Cyprus, like the vast majority of all adjacent territories, was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The island is actively inhabited by Turks - immigrants from the mainland, diluting the Christian population, which contributes to the creation of a large Muslim diaspora on the island . The Ottomans abolished serfdom, introduced by the Byzantines, and provided Orthodox Cypriots with the opportunity for self-government. At the same time, along with the support of the Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church was deprived of such an opportunity, as the authorities feared the strengthening of its influence due to ties with Western Europe.

 

At the beginning of the 19th century, the struggle for independence in the Ottoman vilayets (provinces) began in the region. Despite the fact that Greece, closely associated with Cyprus, gained independence in 1829, the island continued to remain part of the Ottoman Empire.

 

In 1878, at the height of the Russo-Turkish War, the British and Ottoman Empires concluded a secret convention, according to which the island passes under the English protectorate, in exchange for military assistance to Britain in the war against Russia .

 

In the Ottoman period, Cyprus did not have its own money. The first coins were issued in 1879, a year after the start of the British occupation. These were bronze coins in denominations of ¼, ½ and 1 piastre. The line of these coins in unchanged composition was produced until 1900.

 

The monetary system of coins of British Cyprus is unique, and at the same time is associated with the monetary systems of both Empires: British and Ottoman. The Cypriot pound had the same value as the British pound sterling and was equal to 20 shillings or 180 piastres. Shilling, while it consisted of 9 piasters, and the piaster was divided into 40 parts, like the Ottoman kurush. Despite the fact that the name of the Ottoman currency "para" (1/40 kurusha or piastra) was not used when issuing coins, it was widely used when issuing postage stamps during the colonial period.

 

The cost of ¼ Cypriot piasters was equal to the cost of 10 Ottoman pairs, ½ piasters, respectively, to the cost of 20 pairs and 1 piaster to the cost of 1 Ottoman kurush.

 

It should also be noted that the Cyprus pound remained equal in value to the English pound sterling until 1972.

 

The introduction of its own currency for Cyprus was legally unfounded, since the right to issue coins in the "voluntarily" occupied territories still belonged to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. This issue was raised at a meeting of the British Parliament by British Member of Parliament Thomson Hankey in 1879, but his doubts were rejected  by the Government.

 

In 1901, the first silver coins for Cyprus were issued. This was the first and last issue of coins with the profile of Queen Victoria, who died in January of that year.

 

 

The line consisted of 4 coins in denominations of 3, 4 ½, 9 and 18 piastres, which corresponded to the traditional English denominations of coins of 3 pence, 6 pence, shilling and 2 shilling (florin). The entire circulation of this and subsequent editions of coins for British Cyprus was minted at the Royal Mint of Great Britain in London (Royal Mint, Tower Hill). The medalist of the first issue coins was George William de Saulles, the author of portraits of Victoria and Edward VII on coins of Great Britain and its colonies of that time.

 

 

 

During the reign of Edward VII and George V, the issue of a line of bronze and silver coins in full continued, with the exception of the 3 piastre coin, which was discontinued in 1901. Also, under Edward VII, a 4 ½ piastre coin was not issued. The silver sample remained unchanged throughout the period of British colonization.

 

 

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the British colonization of Cyprus, the Bank of Great Britain in 1928 issued a commemorative coin in denomination of 45 piastres, the denomination of which was equal to 5 English  shillings.

 

 

It should be noted that back in 1914, Great Britain annulled the 1878 Convention in connection with the entry of the Ottoman Empire into the First World War on the side of the Axis countries and annexed the island of Cyprus without any reciprocal obligations, and in 1925 officially declared Cyprus its crown colony. In 1926, the British colonial government of Cyprus was created with the establishment of a local legislative council, which, in turn, established the Cyprus Currency Council in 1927, designed to oversee the issuance of the island's currency.

 

In 1934, coins were issued in denominations of ½ and 1 piastre with the profile of George V in new materials, sizes and shapes. For the first time, a copper-nickel alloy and wavy blanks were used to make coins.

 

 

The first issue of coins with the profile of the next English monarch George VI took place in 1938. It was a line of coins in denominations of ½, 1, 4 ½, 9 and 18 piastres. The issue of a piastre ¼ coin in 1926 under George V was the last for this denomination.

 

 

The author of the obverse design is the medalist Percy Metcalfe, the reverse is the medalist George Kruger Gray.

 

 

When issuing coins in 1942, copper-nickel was replaced again with bronze for known reasons, and silver was no longer used for issuing coins.

 

 

In 1947, the colonial authorities issued coins in denominations of 1 and 2 Cypriot shillings on bronze blanks, replacing silver coins in denominations of 9 and 18 piastres.

 

In 1949, in connection with the loss by George VI of the title "Emperor" after gaining independence by the largest English colony - India, another line of coins for Cyprus was issued. This time it consisted of bronze coins of ½ and 1 piastre, copper-nickel coins of 1 and 2 shillings.

 

At the end of World War II, the Cypriots hoped to gain independence from the English crown, but Britain was in no hurry to part with its only remaining colony and an important strategic bridgehead in the Mediterranean Sea. In the post-war period, there were numerous protests by activists, as well as a referendum held in 1950 on independence, the positive results of which were not recognized by the colonial authorities. Only in 1960, under an agreement with the Republic of Turkey, the independence of Cyprus was recognized. Great Britain, at the same time, retained two large military bases on the island. 

 

The last issue of coins of British Cyprus took place in 1955. These were coins with the profile of Queen Elizabeth II and denominations in the decimal system of 3, 5, 25, 50 and 100 mils.