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2 000 000 000 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | The obverse centres on a classical vignette drawn from the Parthenon frieze, presenting a section of the Panathenaic procession in which male figures lead sacrificial cattle, executed in an engraved style. The bank title ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ and the denomination in Greek text panels frame the vignette, with the issue date inscribed as 11 October 1944. The composition is bordered by guilloche bands characteristic of the Greek wartime inflationary emergency issues. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ 2000 ΔΥΟ ΧΙΛΙΑΔΕΣ ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ ΠΛΗΡΩΤΕΑΙ ΕΠΙ ΤΗ ΕΜΦΑΝΙΣΕΙ ΕΝ ΑΘΗΝΑΙΣ Τῌ 11η ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΥ 1944 (Translation: Bank of Greece Drachmai 2000 Two thousand million Payable on presentation In Athens on October 11th, 1944) |
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| Comments |
Greece's wartime hyperinflation was among the worst in recorded history. By late 1944, prices were doubling every few days, and the drachma had effectively ceased to function as a medium of exchange. This 2,000,000,000-drachma note — two billion — was a direct consequence of Axis occupation monetary policy, which forced the Bank of Greece to print currency to cover occupation costs, triggering a collapse that destroyed roughly 99.99% of the currency's value between 1941 and 1944.
The print date of 30 April 1945 means this note was produced after liberation, likely to meet residual demand before the November 1944 currency reform — under which 50 billion old drachmai were exchanged for a single new drachma.