Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Drachmai Half of 10 Drachmai
| Issuer | National Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | First modern drachma (1832-1944) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | This note constitutes the right half of the bisected 10 Drachmai note (P-51), cut vertically and reissued as a 5 Drachmai emergency issue in 1922. The visible half bears a central circular vignette of the Greek royal coat of arms — two figures flanking a crowned shield with a white cross — set against an intricate guilloche underprint in green and purple. A red serial number appears at upper centre, with the date 'Ιανουαρίου 1914' and partial signature lines visible at lower left, along with the imprint of the American Bank Note Company, New York. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΔΕΚΑ ΤΗ ΕΜΦΑΝΙΣΕΙ Ιανουαρίου 1914 ΚΟΠΤΟΝΤΑΙ ΕΙΣ ΔΥΩ ΒΥΞΑΙ Ο ΒΑΣ. ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΟΣ |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
In 1922, the Greek government ordered an immediate increase in the money supply to fund military operations during the catastrophic Anatolian campaign. Rather than wait for new notes to be printed and shipped, the authorities took an expedient that became one of the more literally destructive monetary maneuvers in European history: existing 10 Drachmai notes were physically cut in half. Each half was declared legal tender at 5 Drachmai, effectively doubling the circulating currency overnight with no new printing required.
The left half retained the serial number; the right half was the holder's proof of the other half. Forced loan legislation compelled citizens to surrender one half to the state.