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10 000 Drachmai no date, large size, blue
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1946 |
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| Value | 10 000 Drachmai (10 000 δρᾰχμαί) (10 000) |
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| Obverse description | Portrait bust of Aristotle set within a circular guilloche vignette at left, surrounded by a border of ancient Greek coin motifs at the corners and margins. The bank title ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ appears across the upper centre, with the denomination ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΔΕΚΑ ΧΙΛΙΑΔΕΣ in bold letterpress to the right of the portrait. Two manuscript signatures of bank officials appear below the payability clause, with the serial number printed in the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΔΕΚΑ ΧΙΛΙΑΔΕΣ Πληρωτέα επί τη εμφανίσει ΕΝ ΑΘΗΝΑΙΣ Ο ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΤΗΣ Ο ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΗΣ 10.000 |
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| Comments |
Greece's postwar monetary situation was catastrophic. The occupation-era hyperinflation of 1941–44 had effectively annihilated the drachma, and the 1944 redenomination — at 50 billion old drachmai to one new — required an entirely new note series to be produced quickly. The American Bank Note Company had printed Greek currency before the war, and Athens turned to New York again precisely because domestic printing infrastructure was in no condition to meet demand.
The no-date convention on this issue was deliberate: the series was intended to cover a transitional period of uncertain length, and omitting a date gave the Bank of Greece flexibility to keep notes in circulation without the political awkwardness of issuing visibly dated currency during an active civil war.