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20 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1928 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 140 × 70 mm |
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| Obverse description | At left, an engraved portrait vignette of Georgios Stavros, founder of the National Bank of Greece, rendered in fine intaglio lines; the heading inscription ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ arches across the upper register as an overprint, marking the Bank of Greece's assumption of note-issuing authority. The denomination numeral and Greek text appear at centre-right against an intricate guilloche underprint. The overall composition reflects the American Bank Note Company's characteristic style of close cross-hatched portraiture and elaborate lathe-work border ornamentation. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The central vignette presents the celebrated sculpted head of Hygieia, goddess of health, attributed to Scopas and originating from the Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea, reproduced with careful engraved detail. The composition is enclosed within symmetrical lathe-work borders of the type characteristic of American Bank Note Company production, with denomination text and the bank name inscriptions placed in the surrounding panels. Fine guilloche patterns fill the background field, providing both aesthetic structure and a deterrent against counterfeiting. |
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| Comments |
The 1928 Greek drachma series, including this 20 Drachmai note, was issued following Greece's stabilization loan and its entry into the Gold Exchange Standard — a condition imposed largely by the League of Nations Financial Committee after years of monetary chaos tied to the Asia Minor catastrophe and the absorption of over a million refugees. The Bank of Greece itself had only been established in 1927, this note coming in its first full year of operation.
The American Bank Note Company contract was part of a deliberate effort to signal international credibility. ABNC's work on this series is technically clean, with fine intaglio line work characteristic of their interwar output.