5 Gazettae – Septinsular Republic

The Septinsular Republic, established in 1800 under joint Russo-Ottoman suzerainty, inherited a chaotic monetary situation upon the Ionian Islands' liberation from French rule. The archipelago's economy was burdened by a complex mix of circulating coins, primarily the Turkish kuruş (piastre) and a proliferation of debased and counterfeit Venetian zecchini and gazete from the centuries of Venetian rule. This created significant confusion in trade and daily transactions, as the value and metallic content of coins were inconsistent and unreliable, hampering both local commerce and the new state's ability to collect taxes and pay its administration.

Recognizing that a stable currency was fundamental to sovereignty and economic recovery, the Republic's Senate, with Russian support, undertook a major monetary reform in 1801. The cornerstone was the minting of new, high-quality silver coins on the island of Corfu. The new currency was denominated in a "Phoenix" (Fenice), divided into 100 "Lepta," consciously using Greek terminology to symbolize the new political era. These coins prominently featured the republic's emblem—a lion of Saint Mark holding a Bible (a legacy of Venetian symbolism) combined with the seven arrows representing the united islands—and the inscription in Greek, "ΕΠΤΑΝΗΣΟΣ ΠΟΛΙΤΕΙΑ" (Heptanese State).

This 1801 reform was politically and economically significant. It provided the fledgling republic with a tangible symbol of its limited autonomy and a practical tool for unifying its economy. While Turkish and older coins remained in circulation, the new Phoenix established a more reliable standard. However, the Republic's constrained sovereignty and eventual dissolution meant this currency system was short-lived. Nonetheless, it stands as an important early chapter in modern Greek monetary history, representing the first time a Greek-identifying state minted its own coins in centuries.