150th Anniversary of the Union with the Ionian Islands

A seven-pointed star bearing the Greek inscription "150 YEARS OF THE UNION OF THE IONIAN ISLANDS (HEPTANESE) WITH GREECE 1864–2014" and the name of the issuing state "HELLENIC REPUBLIC", together with the mark of the Greek mint. Between each point of the star are emblematic motifs representing the individual Ionian Islands. The entire design is framed by a decorative stylised wave.

In March 1864, the Ionian Islands passed under Greek sovereignty after almost fifty years of British administration — a transfer achieved not through war but through diplomatic negotiation. Great Britain, which had administered the island group as a protectorate since the Congress of Vienna in 1815, ceded the seven islands of Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Lefkada, Ithaca, Kythira and Paxi to the Kingdom of Greece. A trade-off of interests was decisive: Greece accepted Prince William of Denmark as king, favoured by the protecting powers, while the so-called Eptanisa received in return the long-desired union. For the islanders, this ended decades of a movement that had drawn significant cultural momentum from local patriots such as Andreas Laskaratos and the poet Andreas Kalvos.

The Ionian Islands brought Greece not only territory but also a distinct cultural tradition. Under Venetian rule, which preceded the British period, the islands had developed a pronounced school culture, a vibrant literary language and their own musical school, whose influence lives on today in Ionian opera and the kantada tradition. The 1864 union integrated this heritage into the Greek nation-state and gave the young republic greater weight, both geographically and culturally, in the eastern Mediterranean. Greece honoured the 150th anniversary of this union in 2014 with the issue of a 2-euro commemorative coin.