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250 Drachmai Half of 500 Drachmai
| Issuer | National Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The left half of a bisected 500 Drachmai note (P-56), retaining the intaglio portrait vignette of a gentleman in formal attire set within an ornate guilloche oval at centre-left. The denomination numeral '500' appears both above the portrait and in a large guilloche panel below it, with repeated '500' numerals forming a letterpress border along the margins. The partial Greek inscription 'ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖ...' (National Bank...) is visible at upper right, alongside a partially visible standing figure, with the serial number and red overprint 'ΣΑ' prefix at upper left. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The right half of the bisected 500 Drachmai note (P-56), carrying the intaglio central vignette of a seated allegorical female figure in a classical landscape with ancient Greek ruins in the background, enclosed within a large oval guilloche frame. The partial French inscription 'NATIONALE DE GRECE' arcs along the upper border of the oval, with '...ΕΒΔΟΜΗ' (Seventh) visible at the lower arc. A bold '500' numeral in guilloche work occupies the right portion of the design, surrounded by multicolour lathe-work underprint in green, purple, and orange. |
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| Comments |
Greece faced a severe fiscal crisis in 1922 — a war with Turkey draining the treasury while the drachma collapsed. The government's solution was blunt: existing 500 Drachmai notes were recalled, physically bisected, and each half reissued as a 250 Drachmai note, effectively doubling the circulating supply without printing a single new sheet. One half was retained by the state as a forced loan.
The bisect was given official stamps to validate it as legal tender. ABNCO's original printing was never intended for this treatment, which makes surviving halves with clean, complete cuts and legible stamps considerably harder to find than the survival rate might suggest.