Catalog
50 Drachmai
| Issuer | Ελληνική Τράπεζα (Greek Bank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1841 |
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| Currency | First modern drachma (1832-1944) |
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| Obverse description | Uniface note with elaborate engraved border composed of guilloche and ornamental frame elements. The issuer name ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ is inscribed at upper centre, followed by a handwritten date line and a printed authorization clause in Greek. The large central legend ΠΕΝΤΗΚΟΝΤΑ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ appears in bold letterpress, with manuscript signatures and ΑΚΥΡΟΝ (cancelled) overprints applied in ink across the face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΠΕΝΤΗΚΟΝΤΑ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΑΚΥΡΟΝ |
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| Comments |
The Greek Bank — Ελληνική Τράπεζα — was a short-lived institution, established in 1841 and dissolved just a few years later, making its note issues among the rarest of the early Greek series. This 50 Drachmai was printed during a period when Greece was still operating under the monetary framework imposed following independence, with the drachma only restored as official currency in 1833 after the Ottoman-era coinage was swept aside.
Surviving examples of P#11 are exceptionally scarce. The bank's brief operational window and low initial circulation volumes mean that most issued notes were either redeemed and destroyed or simply lost.