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50 000 000 Drachmai Kefalonia - Ithaka
| Issuer | Ionian Islands Local Treasury (Kefalonia and Ithaka) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Protection type | Official stamps |
| Protection description | Two circular violet official ink stamps on reverse (Municipal Treasury of Ithaka and Bank of Greece branch Argostoli); red date stamp on reverse. |
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| Comments |
The Ionian Islands were occupied by Italian forces from 1941 and then, following Italy's armistice in September 1943, seized by the Germans — who promptly massacred the Italian garrison on Kefalonia in one of the worst such atrocities of the western European theatre. Local emergency currency of this type emerged from the administrative chaos that followed, issued by regional treasury offices operating with almost no central coordination and minimal printing resources.
The denomination itself tells the real story: fifty million drachmai, a figure that reflects the catastrophic inflation tearing through occupied Greece during 1944. Official stamps substituted for conventional security printing because there was no practical alternative.