Catalog
25 000 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | First modern drachma (1832-1944) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Black on olive green and yellow-green underprint. A central vignette presents the ruins of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, rendered in a classical engraved style. The denomination numeral flanks both sides of the design, with the issuing bank title and series designation inscribed in Greek script. |
| Reverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ 25.000 25.000 ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑ ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΗ (Translation: Bank of Greece 25000 25000 Olympia First issue) |
| 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 |
This note belongs to the extreme inflationary sequence Greece endured under Axis occupation, when the occupying powers — Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria — requisitioned Greek resources and forced the Bank of Greece to cover the resulting deficits by printing. The 1943 issues escalated rapidly in face value, and 25,000 drachmai, a sum that would have been unthinkable before the war, was already insufficient for basic transactions within months of issue.
Printed domestically under occupation conditions, the quality of production reflects the material constraints of the period. Greece's wartime hyperinflation ultimately required a currency reform in November 1944, at a conversion rate of 50 billion old drachmai to one new drachma.