The Banknote Museum of the Alpha Bank (formerly the Banknote Museum of the Ionian Bank) is a museum located inside the former Ionian Bank in Corfu Town.
The building of the museum was designed by the Corfiote architect Ioannis Chronis as the first branch of the Ionian Bank, a British overseas bank established in 1839. The bank initially operated as a central bank for the United States of the Ionian Islands and facilitated trading between the Ionian Islands and Great Britain. In 1999 the Ionian Bank was bought by Alpha Bank and rebranded as such in 2000.
The Banknote Museum was established in 1981 in the former headquarters of the Ionian Bank to display a collection of Ionian and Greek banknotes from 1822 to the present. The numismatic collection starts with the first treasury bonds issued by the newly liberated Greek state in 1822, and takes you through the different times until the replacement of the Greek drachma by the euro in 2002. Other remarkable items of the collection are the banknotes issued by the first Governor of Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias, in 1831, the first banknotes of the National Bank of Greece, a 5 million drachma banknote from 1944 during the hyperinflation years, a collection of postwar banknotes from different countries, and a Chinese banknote from 1300 AD, one of the oldest worldwide.
The museum also displays various seals, documents, books, coins, stamps, and other items depicting the history of the Ionian Bank and the economy of the Ionian Islands. There is also a room where you can learn more about the printing process of banknotes, including the creation of watermarks into banknotes and the engraving of the model on the metal plates.
The Banknote Museum is considered one of the most complete in its kind in the world and can be visited for free.
