Cyprus and Cypriot Coins

A-Z Countries Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Obverse of Cypriot 1901 9 Piastres

Reverse of Cypriot 1901 9 Piastres

Cyprus, also known as the Republic of Cyprus, is an Island in the Western Mediterranean. Since 1974, Cyprus has been divided between Turkish Cyprus and Greek Cyprus. However, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognised as an independent nation by Turkey. The capital of both states is Nicosia.

Ancient History
Perhaps in part due to its geographical location, Cyprus has been one of the earliest homes to civilisation, with written records dating back to the 8th Century BC. For much of its ancient history, Cyprus was divided into as many as ten separate kingdoms or city-states.
In 570 BC, Cyprus was conquered by Egypt, and was for a while an Egyptian province; however, it fell under Persian domination soon afterwards as Egypt itself was conquered by the Persian King Cyrus the Great. Under Persia, the Cypriot kingdoms were left as autonomous states as long as they paid tribute to Persia.
Egyptian rule returned under the (Greek) Ptolemaic Dynasty in the late 4th Century BC, and under their rule, Cyprus was more or less completely Hellenised. Conflict between Egypt and the Seleucids saw Cyprus becoming an occasional battleground between the two Empires and the Kings of Cyprus were often forced to choose sides between the two.

Roman and Byzantine Cyprus
Cyprus was taken from the Ptolemies in 58 BC. It remained under Roman Rule until the 7th Century, when it was partially conquered by the Arabs. When it became apparent that neither side could easily defeat the other for control of the island, the Arabs and Byzantines reached an agreement whereby they would rule the island jointly and divide the tax revenues equally between them. This agreement held even when the two Empires were waging war against each other on the mainland.
In 958 AD, the Byzantines completely reconquered the island, and Cyprus remained under Byzantine rule until 1185, when Isaac Komenos, a minor member of the ruling Byzantine Royal House rose in rebellion against the Empire. Although Isaac's attempt to usurp the Byzantine throne failed, he retained control of Cyprus, until 1191, when the island was conquered by Richard the Lionheart on his way to the Holy Land, on account of the fact that Isaac had taken King Richard's sister and fiancée hostage when they were shipwrecked on the island. Richard the Lionheart then sold the Island to the Knights Templar, who then consigned the Kingdom to Guy de Lusignan, who established the Kingdom of Cyprus.

Kingdom of Cyprus
The Kingdom of Cyprus remained a crusader stronghold for some centuries after the eviction of the crusaders from the Holy Land. Initially a powerful feudal monarchy, Cyprus eventually came to be dominated by Italian merchants, much to the resentment of the Frankish kings and nobility of Cyprus.
However, despite a political decision to support the Avignon anti-pope in order to try and secure French support against the Italians, the Monarchy of Cyprus gradually lost more and more power until the last Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, was compelled to sell the island to the Venetians.

Turkish Conquest
The Ottomans subsequently harassed Cyprus continuously until in 1571, under Selim II, the Ottomans captured the island. The conquest of Cyprus led to the conversion of many Cypriots to Islam, and the settlement of many Turks in Cyprus that would have important consequences centuries later.
The Ottomans handed over defacto control of Cyprus to the British in 1878, although they retained nominal sovereignty over the island until 1914, when the Turkish decision to join the central powers led to Britain formally annexing Cyprus and turning it into a Crown Colony.

British Rule
British rule of Cyprus proved to be controversial with the locals from the start. Most Cypriots (especially those of Greek extraction) desired union with mainland Greece (known as 'Enosis'). This was opposed by those Cypriots of Turkish extraction or sympathies. The British took advantage of this division by playing the age-old imperial game of 'divide and rule'. Britain created an auxiliary police force, called the 'Special Mobile Reserve', composed entirely of Turkish Cypriots to use against Greek Cypriot Nationalist agitators. In addition, a disproportionate number of jobs in the civil service (some 30%) where given to Turkish Cypriots, who at the time consisted of only 18% of the population. Actions like this created huge resentment between the majority Greek Cypriot community and the minority Turkish Cypriot community.
In 1955, the Nationalist terrorist group EOKA launched a terrorist insurgent campaign against British rule and against the Turkish Cypriot population. Atrocities and massacres were perpetrated against Turkish Cypriot civilians even as EOKA battled with the British authorities. In response, The Turkish Cypriots formed the Turkish Resistant Organisation (TMT), which received covert assistance with weapons and training from the Turkish Government. Both organisations committed atrocities against civilians, further polarising the divisions between the two communities.

Independence
In 1960, following negotiations with the British, Cyprus became independent, on condition that Britain retain control over military bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, and that neither Greece, Turkey or Britain would ever annex the independent republic of Cyprus.
Continuing intercommunal violence between Greeks and Turks led in 1974 to the Turkish Government authorising an invasion of the Northern part of Cyprus, carefully avoiding the British sovereign base areas in order to avoid war with Britain.
This led to the creation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983. This Republic is recognised only by Turkey and the rest of the world still recognises the Republic of Cyprus' sovereignty over the whole island.

Coinage of Cyprus
The history of coinage in Cyrus is ancient. As part of the Hellenised world, Cyprus used ancient Greek coinage, as well as Roman and later Byzantine currency. During the time of the Kingdom of Cyprus, the Cypriots minted coins modelled after Frankish deniers. During Ottoman rule, the Cypriots used Ottoman currency.
During British rule, the Cypriot Pound was introduced, and was equivalent to Sterling until 1972. Unlike the Sterling Pound however, the Cypriot Pound was initially divided into 180 piastres instead of 240 pennies. The shilling did exist however, and was worth 9 piastres.
In 1955, the Cypriot Pound was decimalised, 16 years before Sterling. Initially, the Cypriot pound was divided into 1000 mils, and sub divisional coinage was denominated as such (the lowest denominated coin was 3 mils, followed by 5, 25, 50 and 100 mils. The 50 mils coin was also known as 'the shilling' due to it being same size and weight as the old 9 piastre coin.
In 1983, the subdivision of the Cypriot Pound was changed to 100 cents, with coins of ½, 1, 2, 5, 10 20 and 50 cents introduced. Other coin denominations were sometimes introduced as commemorative issues.
In 2008, the Cypriot Pound was replaced with the Euro, which is used in Cyprus today. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus officially uses the Turkish Lira as its currency, although the Euro is also widely used.

For Sale and Wanted
If you are interested in coins from Cyprus please see our product index:-
Cypriot Coins

Gold Coins
We also have gold coins from Cyprus on our taxfreegold website:-
Cypriot Gold Coins