Catalog
50 000 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Currency | First modern drachma (1832-1944) |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of a classical youth bust in profile facing right, set within an ornate guilloche border. The denomination '50.000' appears in large numerals at left and right, with 'ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ' above each numeral panel. The bank title 'ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ' is inscribed across the top, and the legend 'ΠΕΝΤΗΚΟΝΤΑ ΧΙΛΙΑΔΕΣ' runs along the bottom panel, with two facsimile signatures at lower right. |
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| Obverse lettering | 50.000 ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ 50.000 ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ 50.000 ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ 50.000 ΠΛΗΡΩΤΕΑΙ ΕΠΙ ΤΗ. ΕΜΦΑΝΙΣΕΙ ΕΝ ΑΘΗΝΑΙΣ ΤΗ. 14η ΙΑΝΟΥΑΡΙΟΥ 1944 Ο ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΗΣ ΟΙ ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΤΑΙ 50.000 ΠΕΝΤΗΚΟΝΤΑ ΧΙΛΙΑΔΕΣ 50.000 |
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| Comments |
This note belongs to the hyperinflationary collapse of the Axis occupation period, when the Greek money supply was being inflated deliberately — partly to fund occupation costs extracted from the Greek state itself. By late 1944, denominations that would have been unimaginable before the war were routine. The 50,000 Drachmai was not a large sum by the time it circulated; monthly inflation rates during the peak of the crisis in late 1943 and 1944 reached figures economists still cite as among the most severe in recorded history.
Printed domestically by the Bank of Greece's own works rather than abroad — a necessity, given the circumstances.