10 000 Drachmai

This note was issued under Axis occupation, when the collaborationist Greek government and the occupying powers had effectively stripped the Bank of Greece of meaningful monetary control. The Germans and Italians requisitioned goods and services through forced "loans," compelling the Bank to print continuously to cover occupation costs. The result was catastrophic: by late 1944, denominations had reached 100 billion drachmai, and the 1942 10,000 note — enormous by prewar standards — became functionally worthless within months of issue.

Printed domestically during a period of severe material shortages, paper and ink quality vary noticeably across surviving examples — a direct consequence of wartime supply disruption at the Athens printing works.