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5 000 000 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ Α΄ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ 5.000.000 ΠΕΝΤΕ ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ ΠΛΗΡΩΤΕΑΙ ΕΠΙ ΤΗ. ΕΜΦΑΝΙΣΕΙ ΕΝ ΑΘΗΝΑΙΣ ΤΗ. 20η ΙΟΥΛΙΟΥ 1944 Ο ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΗΣ ΟΙ ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΤΑΙ (Translation: Bank of Greece 1st [issue] Drachmai 5 000 000 Five Million Payable on demand In Athens on the 20th of July 1944 Chief Officer (signature of Spyridon Chatzikyriakos) Directors (signatures of M. Pierros at left and unknown signature at right)) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ 5 ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ 5.000.000 5 ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΗ (Translation: Bank of Greece 5 Million 5 000 000 5 Million First Issue) |
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| Comments |
By mid-1944, Axis occupation had pushed Greek inflation so far beyond control that the Bank of Greece was printing notes in denominations that would have been unimaginable four years earlier. The five million drachmai note arrived as part of a frantic escalation — the same year also saw issues of 25 million and eventually 100 billion drachmai — as prices doubled in days rather than months.
Printed domestically under occupation conditions, the technical quality reflects the constraints of the moment. The liberation in October 1944 brought an immediate currency reform: the new drachma replaced the old at a rate of 50 billion to one.