25 Drachmai

Greece's financial position in 1923 was dire. The war with Turkey had just ended in catastrophe — the Asia Minor Disaster of 1922 displaced over a million refugees, and the fiscal pressure on the National Bank was acute. Notes of this series were issued against a backdrop of forced loans and currency instability that would eventually lead to the 1932 devaluation.

The American Bank Note Company contract was a deliberate vote of confidence in American security printing at a time when Greek authorities had little faith in domestic production capacity. Alexandros Diomidis, one of the three signatories, served as Finance Minister during this turbulent period — his name on a banknote was, in that moment, politically charged.