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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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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΣΕΙΡΑ Α. ΑΡΙΘ. 10175 ΤΑΜΙΑΚΟΝ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΙΟΝ Έχον νόμιμον κυκλοφορίαν εν Κεφαλληία και Ιθάκη Δυνάμει του υπ' αριθ. 6/5.10.44 Κυβερ. Διατάγματος του Κυβερνητικού Αντιπροσώπου Ιονίων Νήσων ΔΙΑ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΣ 50,000,000 ΠΕΝΤΗΚΟΝΤΑ ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ Εν Αργοστολίω τη 6 Οκτωβρίου 1944 Δια τον Κυβερν. Αντιπρόσωπον - Δια την Τράπεζαν της Ελλάδος Ο Δ/ντής του Δημ. Ταμείου |
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| Reverse lettering | 6. ΟΚΤ. 1944 ΤΑΜΕΙΟΝ ΙΘΑΚΗΣ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΑΡΓΟΣΤΟΛΙΟΥ |
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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.