Catalog
50 Drachmai cut note
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1926 |
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| Value | 50 Drachmai |
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| Obverse description | This is a bisected (cut) example retaining the right-hand portion of the obverse. The surviving fragment displays a large central guilloche rosette executed in green and grey tones, flanked by a decorative border of repeated '50' numerals at the upper right. A red alphanumeric serial number appears in the upper margin, with a manuscript signature below accompanied by the title inscription 'Ο ΒΑΣ. ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΟΣ'. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The surviving right-hand portion of the reverse presents a dark brown intaglio-engraved outer border frame with ornamental corner devices. A large central guilloche medallion rendered in green and brown tones dominates the field, with the denomination numeral '50' at its centre and repeated in the upper and lower corners of the visible fragment. |
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| Comments |
The 1926 Greek 50 Drachmai (Pick 80) belongs to a series issued under severe monetary strain — Greece had just emerged from the catastrophic 1922 population exchange with Turkey, which flooded the country with over a million refugees and destabilized public finances for years afterward. The Bank of Greece itself was only formally established in 1928, meaning this note predates the institution nominally responsible for it, issued under transitional arrangements.
The "cut note" designation refers to the practice of bisecting higher-denomination notes to create two pieces of half the face value — a sanctioned emergency measure when small denominations ran short. Bradbury, Wilkinson produced the base sheets in London.