Catalog
25 Drachmai
| Issuer | National Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1887-1897 |
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| Currency | First modern drachma (1832-1944) |
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| Obverse description | Portrait vignette of Georgios Stavros, founder of the National Bank of Greece, at left; a reclining allegorical female figure occupies the central vignette; the national coat of arms appears at right. The design is executed in the intaglio style characteristic of American Bank Note Company productions of the period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of a woman in traditional Greek national costume, with the denomination rendered in guilloche panels at either side. The composition reflects the ornate engraving style typical of late nineteenth-century American Bank Note Company issues. |
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| Comments |
The National Bank of Greece contracted the American Bank Note Company for this series during a period when Greek state finances were under severe external pressure — the country had defaulted on its foreign debt in 1893 and was sliding toward the International Financial Control commission that would be imposed after the 1897 war with the Ottomans. That ABNCo retained the contract across this entire decade, through default and defeat, reflects how thoroughly Greek note production had been outsourced to New York.
Paper deterioration is a known issue with surviving examples — the stock used in this series is prone to toning along fold lines, and genuinely clean specimens are harder to find than the catalogue frequency suggests.