1000 Drachmai

The National Bank of Greece turned to the American Bank Note Company for this issue at a moment of acute political and demographic upheaval — 1923 was the year the Treaty of Lausanne formalized the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, displacing over a million people and placing enormous strain on the Greek monetary system. The NBG was still functioning as a dual commercial and central bank, a role it would not formally relinquish until 1928.

ABNC's intaglio work on Greek contracts from this period is generally fine, and the 1000 Drachmai denomination circulated at the high end of everyday transactions — enough that well-worn survivors are the rule rather than the exception.