Catalog
1000 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| Currency | First modern drachma (1832-1944) |
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| Obverse description | Central intaglio vignette within an oval guilloche frame presents a left-facing bust of a young woman in traditional Greek costume with an ornate headdress. Flanking the portrait on both sides are large denomination numerals '1000' set within elaborate guilloche rosettes against a golden-ochre underprint. Three manuscript signatures appear in the lower portion — one Governor (Ο ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΗΣ) to the left and two Directors (ΟΙ ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΤΑΙ) to the right — beneath the denomination cartouche reading ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΧΙΛΙΑΙ. |
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| Variants | P#118a(1) - prefixed large serial # P#118a(2) - prefixed small serial # P#118a(3) - suffixed serial # |
| Comments |
Greece under Axis occupation experienced one of the most catastrophic inflations of the twentieth century. By late 1944, prices had increased so many millionfold that the prewar drachma had effectively ceased to function as a unit of account. This 1000 Drachmai note, dated 1942, was part of the occupation-era series issued under the collaborationist government — the Bank of Greece continued to print and issue currency under German and Italian pressure, with the occupying powers effectively using the mechanism to extract resources from the local economy.
The 1944 currency reform replaced occupation drachmai at 50 billion old to one new drachma.