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100 Drachmai
| Issuer | National Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1892 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#45 |
| Obverse description | At left, a vignette of Athena; at centre, the coat of arms of King George I; at right, a profile portrait of Georgios Stavros, founder of the National Bank of Greece. The composition is framed by ornate guilloche borders typical of late nineteenth-century intaglio engraving. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central panel carries the bank name and denomination in French within an elaborate guilloche surround. Denomination numerals are repeated at each corner of the note. |
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| Comments |
Greece's late nineteenth-century finances were in chronic disorder — the country had defaulted on foreign debt in 1893 and was operating under sustained fiscal pressure throughout this period. The National Bank of Greece held a printing monopoly and a de facto lending stranglehold over the state, which gave its notes a peculiar dual status: nominally convertible, but practically circulating as forced currency during repeated suspension periods.
P#45 is among the larger-denomination notes of the series and correspondingly rare in any grade. High-denomination Drachmai notes from this era were frequently retained as store-of-value instruments rather than cycled through trade, yet convertibility suspensions meant redemption was often deferred or effectively denied.
The 1893 default came just one year after this series began circulating.