Catalog
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| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Light blue-green note with a fine guilloche border framing the entire face. The heading ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ appears in a cartouche at top centre, beneath which the title ΤΑΜΕΙΑΚΟΝ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΙΟΝ and the agricultural bond purpose text are set in letterpress. The large denomination figure 100.000 ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ is printed in the centre flanked by two circular guilloche rosettes bearing the series designation ΣΕΙΡΑ Β!, with a text body below detailing redemption terms dated 30 June 1943, two manuscript signatures of bank officials, and a serial number. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΤΑΜΕΙΑΚΟΝ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΙΟΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΜΙΣΤΗΝ ΔΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΣΥΓΚΕΝΤΡΩΣΙΝ ΤΩΝ ΑΓΡΟΤΙΚΩΝ ΠΡΟΙΟΝΤΩΝ ΣΕΙΡΑ Β! 100.000 ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ Ο ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΗΣ ΟΙ ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΤΑΙ ΕΝ ΑΘΗΝΑΙΣ ΤΗ 5η ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ 1943 ΝΟΜΟΘΕΤΙΚΟΝ ΔΙΑΤΑΓΜΑ ΑΡ.2164/19-2-1943 ΥΠΟΥΡΓΙΚΗ ΑΠΟΦΑΣΙΣ ΤΗΣ 5-3-1943 |
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| Comments |
Greece's occupation-era finances were managed through a deliberately fractured system — the Axis authorities allowed the Bank of Greece to continue issuing notes but stripped it of any real monetary control. Agricultural Treasury Bonds like this one were a parallel instrument, nominally tied to agricultural credit but functionally a device for absorbing the catastrophic hyperinflation then consuming the drachma. By 1943, prices were doubling within days.
The "second issue" designation matters here. The first issue of the 100,000 Drachmai bond was rendered nearly worthless almost immediately upon release — not over months, but weeks — forcing a rapid follow-on emission. The denomination itself, unthinkable in peacetime Greece, had become routine by mid-occupation.