Catalog
20 Drachmai Corfu
| Issuer | Bank of Greece (Ionian Islands Branch, Corfu) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Value | 20 Drachmai |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a classical engraved vignette of Homer in left-facing profile, set within an oval frame at left, against an ornate guilloche and Greek-key border design. The denomination '50' appears in each corner, with bilingual inscriptions in Italian and Greek identifying the note as legal tender for the Ionian Islands. The face value '50 DRACME / ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ' is displayed in large numerals at centre-right, beneath the treasury signature line. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BIGLIETTO A CORSO LEGALE PER LE ISOLE JONIE / ΧΑΡΤΟΝΟΜΙΣΜΑ ΕΧΟΝ ΝΟΜΙΜΟΝ ΚΥΚΛΟΦΟΡΙΑΝ ΕΝ ΤΑΙΣ ΙΟΝΙΟΙΣ ΝΗΣΟΙΣ / DRACME 50 ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ / IL TESORIERE |
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| Comments |
Pick 153 belongs to a brief, administratively awkward episode: the Allied liberation of the Ionian Islands in 1944 created an immediate need for local currency before the mainland banking system could function. The Bank of Greece's Ionian Islands Branch at Corfu was authorized to issue notes independently, something no regional branch had done before or since.
The occupation-era drachma had been catastrophically debased by Axis requisitioning — hyperinflation had rendered mainland notes nearly worthless by mid-1944. These Corfu issues circulated in a closed island economy where that damage was at least partially contained.
The series is notably scarce in any grade; print runs were small and the notes were quickly superseded by unified post-liberation issues.