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1000 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Predominantly green and black on multicolour guilloche underprint. A blank watermark window occupies the left portion of the note, with the denomination value at centre and a vignette of a woman in traditional Greek dress at right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Green on pale red and yellow underprint. A portrait of Athena appears at left, with a central vignette of the Parthenon atop the Acropolis in Athens, and a blank watermark window reserved at right. |
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| Comments |
The date discrepancy here is the central fact. This note carries a 1939 issue date but was printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson in London in April 1945 — deep into the German occupation of Greece, after which the drachma had already undergone catastrophic inflation. The Greek government-in-exile in Cairo authorized continued production of pre-war denominations as part of postwar monetary stabilization planning, stockpiling notes in anticipation of liberation and currency reform.
By the time these reached circulation, the 1944 hyperinflation had rendered the face value economically meaningless. The currency reform of November 1944 had already replaced old drachmai at 50 billion to one new drachma.