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10 Drachmai
| Issuer | Kingdom of Greece (Ministry of Finance) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | At left, a circular coin-style vignette in intaglio presents a right-facing portrait of Demeter, goddess of the harvest, her hair wreathed with grain, framed by wheat stalks on a red-orange guilloche underprint; the inscription ΔΗΜΗΤΗΡ appears below the medallion. To the right, the denomination numeral '10' is set within an elaborate green guilloche cartouche, flanked by the legends ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ and ΔΕΚΑ, with the serial number in red and issue date of 6 April 1940 printed above the Minister of Finance's signature. The upper border carries the title ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ in a dark blue panel, and the entire note is enclosed in a finely engraved foliate frame with corner numerals. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central vignette, rendered in brown intaglio, presents a finely detailed view of the Academy of Athens, its neoclassical façade with Ionic colonnade flanked by two tall columns each surmounted by seated statues, with sculpted figures visible at the entrance stairs and lush garden plantings in the foreground. Large guilloche medallions bearing the numeral '10' occupy the left and right margins within blue decorative panels incorporating fleur-de-lis ornaments. The upper border repeats the title ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ in white lettering on blue, while a two-line anti-counterfeiting warning runs along the lower border, and the printer's imprint LEIPZIG – GIESECKE & DEVRIENT – BERLIN appears at the foot. |
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| Comments |
Giesecke & Devrient printed this note in Germany at a moment of acute political tension — Greece received delivery of a currency order from a Leipzig and Berlin firm just months before Italy's invasion in October 1940 and the subsequent German occupation. Whether the full print run reached Athens before the war cut off normal commercial relations is unclear, but 12,175,000 pieces is a substantial quantity for a low denomination.
The Ministry of Finance issuing authority rather than the Bank of Greece reflects a fiscal arrangement specific to smaller wartime and pre-war fractional notes, keeping central bank liabilities off certain short-term emission series.