Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Drachmai
| Issuer | Kingdom of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Paper |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central circular vignette contains a profile portrait of Zeus rendered in intaglio against a fine guilloche underprint, flanked on either side by the numeral '20' above the denomination legend in Greek. The title inscription 'ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ' runs across the top panel, and the payment clause with the date 9 November 1944 appears along the lower margin beneath the vignette. Ornamental guilloche borders frame the entire face, with decorative floral cornerpieces at each corner. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central rectangular vignette reproduces Nikolaos Gyzis's allegorical painting 'Glory of Psara', showing a robed female figure in dynamic pose against a plain background, printed in letterpress with a light tan underprint. The numeral '20' appears in guilloche rosettes to the left and right of the vignette. The title 'ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ' is set in a panel at the top, with the denomination legend 'ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΕΙΚΟΣΙ' in a panel at the foot of the note. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Greece in 1944 was operating under Axis occupation, and the collaborationist government issued notes like this one under conditions of catastrophic hyperinflation — one of the worst episodes in modern monetary history. By late 1944, the drachma had essentially ceased to function as a unit of exchange; prices were quoted in billions, and notes were often worth more as fuel than currency.
The 20 Drachmai denomination was obsolete almost the moment it was printed.