Catalog
25 Drachmai
| Issuer | National Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918-1919 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | At left, a portrait vignette of Georgios Stavros, founder of the National Bank of Greece; at centre, an allegorical female figure personifying History; at right, the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Greece, overprinted with the Greek text «ΝΕΟΝ». |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central vignette of two allegorical female figures personifying History and Poetry, flanked on the left and right by guilloche panels bearing the denomination in French; the bank name appears in French along the upper margin. |
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| Comments |
Greece entered the First World War on the Allied side in June 1917 following intense pressure from Britain and France, and the wartime strain on public finances forced a rapid expansion of the circulating note supply. The American Bank Note Company had a long relationship with Greek issuing authorities stretching back into the nineteenth century, and this series drew on that existing arrangement rather than any emergency procurement — the plates were not rushed work.
The P#65 series is known for ink oxidation along fold lines, a recurring condition problem tied to the paper stock used in this period.