Catalog
100 Drachmai
| Issuer | Hellenic Bank (Ελληνική Τράπεζα) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1841 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | An ornate rectangular letterpress frame with decorative corner vignettes and lateral floral scrollwork surrounds the face. The Greek state arms appear at top centre, flanked by the serial number repeated at upper left and upper right, below which the issuer's name ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ is set in bold type, followed by the handwritten foundation date and the promise-to-pay clause in Greek. The large denomination legend ΕΚΑΤΟΝ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ occupies the centre in prominent display type, with manuscript signature lines for the accountant and the bank director placed to either side and a central oval registry stamp. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ Συσταθείσα τη 30 Μαρτίου 1841 ΠΛΗΡΩΤΕΑ ΕΙΣ ΜΕΤΡΙΤΑ ΤΩ ΚΟΜΙΣΤΗ ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΕΜΦΑΝΙΣΙΝ ΕΚΑΤΟΝ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ Ο ΛΟΓΙΣΤΗΣ Ο ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΤΗΣ ΤΗΣ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΗΣ |
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The Hellenic Bank (Ελληνική Τράπεζα) was established in 1841 as Greece's first bank of issue, granted its charter the same year this note was produced. The institution operated under a French-influenced banking model, reflecting the broader Bavarian regency's reliance on Western European financial frameworks to build a functional monetary system for the newly independent Greek state. Greek public confidence in paper instruments was essentially nonexistent at this point — specie had been the only trusted medium for generations.
P#12 is among the rarest documented issues from this bank, and surviving examples are extraordinarily few.