Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Drachmai
| Issuer | National Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1905-1918 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central oval intaglio vignette of Athena in profile, helmeted and wearing classical dress, set within an elaborate guilloche surround of floral and geometric patterns. The numeral '5' appears in large format at both left and right flanks. The Greek legend ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΕ is inscribed across the upper panel, with ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΔΕΥΤΕΡΑ in a lower cartouche, and the printer's imprint AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK along the bottom margin. |
| Reverse lettering | ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΕ ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΔΕΥΤΕΡΑ AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The National Bank of Greece relied on American Bank Note Company for this series at a time when domestic printing capacity was nowhere near sufficient for a state-scale currency run. ABNC's New York shop produced work of consistently high intaglio quality, and their Greek contracts from this period show the sharp fine-line engraving characteristic of their export commissions.
The date range spans the Balkan Wars and the First World War — a period of dramatic territorial expansion for Greece and severe fiscal strain. Notes from the earlier part of the range circulated into conditions quite different from those in which they were issued.