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250 Drachmai Half of 500 Drachmai
| Issuer | National Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#62 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΓΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ 500 |
| Reverse description | The right half of the reverse of the original 500 Drachmai note serves as the reverse of this bisected emergency issue. The surviving portion displays a large ornate guilloche frame of lathe-work in concentric scalloped borders, enclosing the numeral 500 at centre. Partial text reading NATIONALE and additional decorative numerals 500 appear at the upper left margin, with the imprint of the American Bank Note Company, New York, visible along the lower edge. |
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| Comments |
In 1922, Greece was in the middle of the catastrophic Asia Minor campaign — military expenditure had overwhelmed the treasury, and the government needed currency fast. Rather than commission an entirely new print run, the authorities took existing 500 Drachmai notes from circulation, cut them in half vertically, and declared each half legal tender for 250 Drachmai. The left half retained Pick #62a status; the right half, #62b. It was a forced loan dressed up as monetary policy.
ABNC had printed the parent 500 Drachmai notes years earlier. The Greek government's solution cost almost nothing to implement — the cutting was done by the bank itself, not in New York.