Catalog
50 Drachmai
| Issuer | National Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921-1922 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 175 × 90 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central medallion vignette of Alexander the Great in profile facing right, rendered in the style of an antique coin portrait, set within an elaborate guilloche rosette surround. Numeral denominators «50» appear in large intaglio figures to either side, with the bank title «ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΓΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ» across the top and the edition inscription «ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΤΡΙΤΗ» along the lower centre; the imprint «AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY» appears at the foot of the note. |
| Reverse lettering | ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΓΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΤΡΙΤΗ AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY. |
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| Comments |
Greece was deep in the Anatolian Campaign when this note entered circulation — the Asia Minor offensive that ended in catastrophe at Smyrna in 1922. The ABNC contract reflected a recurring pattern: the National Bank of Greece frequently turned to American and British printers when domestic capacity or political instability made local production impractical.
The 1921–1922 date range spans the turn of the war's fortunes. Notes from the later printings circulated into a country processing a humanitarian disaster and a massive influx of refugees, conditions that drove hard use and accelerated deterioration of paper stock.