Crete

Cretan State

De facto independent state (1898-1908)

Location: Eastern Mediterranean

Capital City: Chania

Government type: Independent state under international supervision

Main languages: Greek, Turkish

Main religions: Orthodox Christianity, Sunni Islam, Judaism

Chronology

1897: Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Germany, and Austria occupy Ottoman Crete during a rebellion of Cretan Greeks

1898: Cretan State established, de jure as an Ottoman autonomy but a de facto independent state under protection of the Great Powers and administered by Prince George of Greece

1908: Joins Greece, unrecognized until 1913

Currency

Drachme (1900-1908)

1 Drachme = 100 Lepta

Coins from Crete in the collection

•10 Lepta, 1900 (Prince George (1898-1908), cupronickel, Paris mint, KM#4)

•50 Lepta, 1901 (Prince George (1898-1908), silver (.835), Paris mint, KM#6)

•5 Drachme, 1901 (Prince George (1898-1908), silver (.900), Paris mint, KM#9)