Catalog
100 000 000 Drachmai Patras
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Reference(s) | P#164 |
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| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΤΑΜΕΙΑΚΟΝ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΙΟΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΜΙΣΤΗΝ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΕΚΑΤΟΝ ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΥΠΟΚΑΤΑΣΤΗΜΑ ΠΑΤΡΩΝ Ο ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΤΗΣ ΕΝ ΠΑΤΡΑΙΣ ΤΗ 7 ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΥ 1944 Ο ΥΠΟΥΡΓΟΣ ΑΝΤΙΠΡΟΣΩΠΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΣΕΩΣ ΔΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΝ |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, presenting a plain cream-coloured paper surface with no vignette, text, or ornamental elements. |
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| Comments |
By mid-1944, Axis occupation had reduced the Greek drachma to near-worthlessness through relentless money printing to cover occupation costs — a hyperinflationary spiral that forced denominations into the hundreds of millions. This 100,000,000 drachmai note was issued at Patras, one of several regional issue points the Bank of Greece used to distribute emergency currency as the occupation economy collapsed.
The November 1944 currency reform ultimately swept away all occupation-era notes at an exchange rate of 50 billion old drachmai to one new drachma. Surviving examples are common; the real scarcity in this series is uncirculated stock, since most notes were spent rapidly and discarded once redemption closed.