Catalog
25 Drachmai
| Issuer | Elliniki Trapeza (National Bank of Greece) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1841 |
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| Currency | First modern drachma (1832-1944) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΕΙΚΟΣΙΠΕΝΤΕ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΑΚΥΡΟΝ |
| Reverse description | Uniface; the reverse is left entirely blank. |
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| Comments |
The National Bank of Greece was only founded in 1841 — the same year this note was issued — making P#10 among the earliest products of an institution that had just received its charter. Greece itself had only gained formal international recognition of its independence in 1832, and establishing a functioning central bank with a circulating paper currency was a deliberate act of state-building under the Bavarian-backed monarchy of Otto I.
Surviving examples from this inaugural series are extremely rare. The Greek public of the 1840s remained deeply reluctant to accept paper money, preferring coin, and actual circulation was thin.