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10 000 000 000 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 140 × 62 mm |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in blue and consists of dense, elaborate guilloche lacework covering the full field, with the numeral "10" repeated in large format at left and right within scrollwork cartouches. A central rosette guilloche medallion carries the word "ΔΙΣΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ" across its face in bold letterpress. The bank title "ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ" is inscribed in the upper panel, and "ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΗ" (First Issue) appears in a decorative tablet at the bottom centre. |
| Reverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ 10 ΔΙΣΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΗ (Translation: Bank of Greece, 10 Billion, First issue) |
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| Comments |
Greece's wartime hyperinflation was among the worst in recorded history. By late 1944, the occupying Axis powers had systematically looted the Greek economy and forced the Bank of Greece to print currency to cover occupation costs, triggering a collapse so severe that denominations climbed from hundreds to billions of drachmai within months. This note — ten billion drachmai — was not an anomaly but a routine transaction instrument by the time it entered circulation.
The printing quantity of just under eleven million notes is modest given the circumstances, suggesting this denomination appeared relatively late in the spiral, when even larger notes were already being prepared.