50 Drachmai

Greece established its own state security printing works in the early 1950s partly in response to the catastrophic counterfeiting vulnerabilities exposed during the Axis occupation, when forged drachmai flooded the market alongside genuine occupation currency. Printing domestically, in Holargos outside Athens, gave the Bank of Greece direct control over both plate security and distribution — a priority after years of relying on foreign printers and watching its currency destroyed twice over by hyperinflation within a single decade.

The P#188 series is among the earliest issues to come entirely out of that facility.