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50 000 Drachmai

Issuer Bank of Greece
Year 1944
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Printer Bank of Greece Printing Works, Athens
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Reverse description The reverse is dominated by three large rectangular guilloche panels arranged horizontally, with the central panel bearing the numeral '50.000' in bold letterpress. Intricate lathe-work patterns fill the side panels and surround the central cartouche. 'ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ' is inscribed at the top and 'ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΗ' at the bottom centre.
Reverse lettering 50.000 ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ 50.000 50.000 50.000 ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΗ 50.000
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Comments

This note belongs to the hyperinflationary collapse of the Axis occupation period, when the Greek money supply was being inflated deliberately — partly to fund occupation costs extracted from the Greek state itself. By late 1944, denominations that would have been unimaginable before the war were routine. The 50,000 Drachmai was not a large sum by the time it circulated; monthly inflation rates during the peak of the crisis in late 1943 and 1944 reached figures economists still cite as among the most severe in recorded history.

Printed domestically by the Bank of Greece's own works rather than abroad — a necessity, given the circumstances.

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