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25 Drachmai
| Issuer | National Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1903 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | First modern drachma (1832-1944) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central intaglio vignette of a semi-recumbent allegorical figure — a putto or youthful Hermes holding a caduceus — seated before a seascape with a sailing vessel at left; large ornate numeral '25' flanks the central vignette on both sides within elaborate guilloche scrollwork. The legend 'BANQUE NATIONALE DE GRECE' is inscribed above and below the central panel, with the Greek inscription 'ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΟΓΔΟΗ' (Eighth Issue) below; the imprint 'AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. NEW YORK' appears in small lettering at the base. |
| Reverse lettering | BANQUE NATIONALE DE GRECE ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΟΓΔΟΗ AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. NEW YORK |
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| Comments |
The National Bank of Greece turned to the American Bank Note Company for this series at a time when the country was still clawing its way out of the financial wreckage of the 1893 bankruptcy and the humiliating 1897 defeat against the Ottomans. Foreign printing was partly a credibility signal — ABNC's name on a note carried weight with a public that had strong reasons to distrust domestic institutions.
The 1897 war had lasted just thirty days and ended in a Greek military collapse, forcing an international financial commission to oversee Greek state revenues until 1906. Notes issued in this period circulated under that shadow.