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50 000 000 Drachmai Kalamata
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 000 000 Drachmai (50 000 000) |
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| Obverse description | Pink note printed in violet, with a small flag vignette at upper left and upper right flanking the issuer inscription. The central text area carries the denomination in large Greek letters across the middle, above a promise-to-pay clause and a mandatory acceptance notice, with the place and date of issue (Kalamata, 20 September 1944) set below. Three manuscript signatures appear at the bottom, attributed to the local committee president, secretary, and the Bank of Greece Kalamata branch representative, within a simple bordered frame. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΤΑΜΕΙΑΚΟΝ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΙΟΝ ΔΡΧ. 50.000.000 ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΜΙΣΤΗΝ Α ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΗΝΤΑ ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ Η Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος υποχρεούται ν' ανταλλάξη το παρόν Ταμειακόν Γραμμάτιον έναντι Τραπεζογραμματίων επί τη εμφανίσει ΤΟ ΠΑΡΟΝ ΓΙΝΕΤΑΙ ΥΠΟΧΡΕΩΤΙΚΩΣ ΔΕΚΤΟΝ ΕΙΣ ΑΠΑΣΑΣ ΤΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΛΛΑΓΑΣ ΚΑΛΑΜΑΤΑ 20 ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΟΥ 1944 ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΥΠΟΚ)ΜΑ ΚΑΛΑΜΩΝ ΠΡΟΧΩΡΙΤΙΚΗ ΑΛΛ)ΚΗ ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΗ Ο ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟΣ Ο ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΕΑΣ |
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| Comments |
By mid-1944, German and Italian occupation had so thoroughly destroyed the Greek monetary system that denominations climbed into the tens of millions almost weekly. This 50,000,000 drachmai note was issued during one of the most catastrophic hyperinflationary episodes in recorded history — the wartime inflation that ultimately required a 1944 redenomination at 50 billion old drachmai to one new drachma.
The Kalamata designation identifies the branch of payment, not the printing location; the Bank of Greece Printing Works in Athens produced the series centrally. Branch-designated notes were a practical measure for regional distribution under occupation-era logistical constraints.