Catalog
100 000 000 Drachmai Agrinion
| Issuer | Bank of Greece, Agrinion Branch |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 100 000 000 Drachmai (100 000 000) |
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| Obverse description | Emergency cheque-format local issue on plain white paper stock, with the branch designation ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ / ΥΠΜΑ ΑΓΡΙΝΙΟΥ at upper left and the denomination ΕΠΙΤΑΓΗ ΔΡΑΧ. 100.000.000 at upper right, both in letterpress. The body carries a manuscript date of 19 Οκτωβρίου 1944, the written-out amount ΕΚΑΤΟΝ ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ in bold letterpress, and a handwritten signature of branch director Γ. ΦΑΝΟΣ at lower right. An ink stamp reading ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ / ΥΠΜΑ ΑΓΡΙΝΙΟΥ / Ο ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΤΗΣ is applied at lower right alongside the signature. |
|---|---|
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| Signature(s) | Γ. Φάνος (Branch Director, Agrinion) |
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| Comments |
Greece's hyperinflation of 1943–44 was among the most extreme in recorded history, driven by Axis occupation authorities printing drachmai without restraint to fund requisitions. By late 1944, the index had reached levels where denominations in the hundreds of millions became necessary for routine transactions. Branch-issued notes like this one were an administrative response to the currency's collapse — the Athens printing infrastructure could not keep pace with demand, so regional branches were authorized to issue their own paper under central bank authority.
The Agrinion branch issues are scarcer than their Athens counterparts. A single regional director's signature rather than the dual-signature format of metropolitan issues is the immediate tell.