A Greek Rarity Certified by PMG Featured in Karamitsos Sale

A rare banknote that is over a century old and certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) is among the offerings in the next sale presented by the auction house A. Karamitsos, which has been in the philately trade for more than 40 years. World coins and medals certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®) (including an 1896-dated Olympic Medal) and banknotes certified by PMG are featured in Part A and Part B of Karamitsos' Public & Live Internet Auction 676. Online bidding is already underway for the sale, which will be held April 3-4, 2021.

The Greece, Ionian Bank Ltd. 1895-1907 10 New Drachmai graded PMG 12 Fine NET (lot 6412) has a starting price of € 27,000 (about $32,000 USD). The note bears witness to the complex history of its issuer, a bank that was first chartered by Great Britain in 1839 to operate in the Ionian Isles, a series of islands off the western and southern coast of Greece that were then a British Protectorate.

Greece, Ionian Bank Ltd. 1895-1907 10 New Drachmai graded PMG 12 Fine NET Click image to enlarge

By the time the note was issued, the islands had been reunified with Greece and the bank had given up its Royal Charter. But its heritage was preserved in the Greek and British flags at the center of the front of the note.

Other PMG-certified highlights in the sale include:

• a Greece, National Bank 1870-82 100 Drachmai graded PMG 35 Choice Very Fine (lot 6366) with a starting price of € 9,000 (about $10,700 USD)
• a Greece, Bank of Greece 1897-1900 25 Drachmai Color Trial Specimen graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated (lot 6369) with a starting price of € 7,000 (about $8,300 USD)
• a Greece, Bank of Greece 1944 100,000,000 Drachmai graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated EPQ (lot 6628) with a starting price of € 3,000 (about $3,600 USD)
• an Italy / Dodacenese Islands 1943 500 Lire graded PMG 20 Very Fine (lot 6668) with a starting price of € 3,000 (about $3,600 USD)
• a Turkey, Central Bank 1930 (ND 1937-39) 100 Lira graded PMG 25 Very Fine (lot 7132) with a starting price of € 3,000 (about $3,600 USD)
• an Italy / Dodecanese Islands 1943 100 Lire graded PMG 15 Choice Fine (lot 6667) with a starting price of € 2,500 (about $3,000 USD)
• a Greece, Agricultural Treasury Bond 1943 500,000 Drachmai graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine (lot 6600) with a starting price of € 2,400 (about $2,900 USD)
• a Greece, Agricultural Treasury Bond 1942 500,000 Drachmai graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine (lot 6596) with a starting price of € 2,300 (about $2,700 USD)
• a Greece, Zagora Cooperative 1945 50,000 Drachmai on 100 Drachmai graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated EPQ (lot 6640) with a starting price of € 1,800 (about $2,100 USD)
• a Greece, Bank of Greece 1944 500,000,000 Drachmai graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine (lot 6623) with a starting price of € 1,500 (about $1,800 USD)
• a Palestine, Currency Board 1929 5 Pounds graded PMG 20 Very Fine (lot 1781) with a starting price of € 1,400 (about $1,700 USD)
• a Greece, National Bank 1921-22 100 Drachmai Specimen graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 6387) with a starting price of € 1,100 (about $1,300 USD)
• a Ceylon / British Administration 1941-45 100 Rupees graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated (lot 7153) with a starting price of € 1,000 (about $1,200 USD)
• a Jordan, Currency Board 1949 (ND 1952) 1 Dinar graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated (lot 7175) with a starting price of € 800 (about $950 USD)
• a Cyprus ND (1937-50) 10/- Shillings Front Progressive Proof graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ (lot 6677) with a starting price of € 650 (about $775 USD)
• a Turkey, Ministry of Finance ND (1926) 50 Livres graded PMG 62 Uncirculated (lot 7131) with a starting price of € 650 (about $775 USD)
• a Turkey, State Note of the Ministry of Finance ND (1926) 5 Livres graded PMG 50 About Uncirculated EPQ (lot 7129) with a starting price of € 600 (about $700 USD)
• a Turkey, Ministry of Finance ND (1926) 10 Livres Specimen graded PMG 62 Uncirculated (lot 7130) with a starting price of € 550 (about $650 USD)
• a German East Africa 1905 100 Rupien graded PMG 30 Very Fine (lot 7234) with a starting price of € 500 (about $600 USD)
• a Republique d'Haiti, Treasury 1827 2 Gourdes graded PMG 50 About Uncirculated (lot 7310) with a starting price of € 400 (about $475 USD)

All starting prices provided by the auction house.