Greece entered World War I on the Allied side in 1917 following the forced abdication of King Constantine I, and the new Venizelist government needed small-denomination notes almost immediately — silver had vanished from circulation, hoarded the moment wartime uncertainty set in. Bradbury Wilkinson produced this fractional note in London, which was routine for Greece at the time; the country had relied on British and French printers for its paper currency throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
At 65 × 40 mm, these were essentially intended to replace coins, and they circulated hard. Surviving examples in decent condition are less common than the print quantities would suggest.
Greece entered World War I on the Allied side in 1917 following the forced abdication of King Constantine I, and the new Venizelist government needed small-denomination notes almost immediately — silver had vanished from circulation, hoarded the moment wartime uncertainty set in. Bradbury Wilkinson produced this fractional note in London, which was routine for Greece at the time; the country had relied on British and French printers for its paper currency throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
At 65 × 40 mm, these were essentially intended to replace coins, and they circulated hard. Surviving examples in decent condition are less common than the print quantities would suggest.