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5 Dracme Italian occupation
| Issuer | Cassa Mediterranea di Credito per la Grecia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 80 × 51 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BIGLIETTO A CORSO LEGALE PER LE ISOLE JONIE / ΧΑΡΤΟΝΟΜΙΣΜΑ ΕΧΟΝ ΝΟΜΙΜΟΝ ΚΥΚΛΟΦΟΡΙΑΝ ΕΝ ΤΑΙΣ ΙΟΝΙΟΙΣ ΝΗΣΟΙΣ / DRACME 5 ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ / IL TESORIERE / 5 |
| Reverse description | Central vignette presents a bas-relief intaglio scene of three male figures in classical Hellenic style, the central figure gesturing toward the others, set within a ruled rectangular frame. Flanking the central panel are two large numeral "5" denominators, each surrounded by radiating guilloche rosette patterns. The border repeats the palmette frieze design found on the obverse, and serial number panels appear at the lower left and lower right. |
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| Comments |
The Cassa Mediterranea di Credito per la Grecia was a puppet financial institution established by the Italian occupation authorities in 1941 specifically to manage currency in occupied Greece — a parallel banking structure designed to extract resources while insulating the Italian lira from the inflationary consequences of occupation spending. Notes issued through it were legal tender in the occupied zone but had no backing and no convertibility worth speaking of.
At 80 × 51 mm, this is among the smallest denominations in the Cassa Mediterranea series, and the low face value made it a workhorse of everyday transactions during a period of catastrophic hyperinflation. Greece's wartime inflation became one of the worst in recorded history; by 1944, a single gold sovereign was trading for billions of drachmai.