Catalog
1 Drachma
| Issuer | Kingdom of Greece (Βασίλειον της Ελλάδος) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#305 |
| Obverse description | The royal arms of Greece in an oval vignette at left and a portrait of Pericles in an oval vignette at right, with the large numeral '1' at centre flanked by guilloche underprint. The heading ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ appears across the top banner, and the denomination ΔΡΑΧΜΗ ΜΙΑ is inscribed below the central vignette, with two manuscript signatures of the Treasurer and Minister of Finance beneath. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A central vignette reproduces the design of the contemporary 1-drachma coin, with Thetis riding a hippocampus and carrying the shield forged by Hephaistos, set within a circular medallion surrounded by fine lathe-work border ornaments. |
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| Comments |
Greece in 1918 was deep into the National Schism — the bitter constitutional rupture between King Constantine I and Prime Minister Venizelos that split the country between two rival governments. Small-denomination notes like this one emerged partly because the political paralysis disrupted normal coin supply, and fractional currency effectively disappeared from everyday commerce. Aspioti-ELKA, operating out of Corfu, was one of the few domestic printers capable of filling the gap — Venizelist Corfu being, not coincidentally, more accessible to the provisional government's monetary apparatus than Athens.