Catalog
50 Drachmai punch holes
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Two circular vignettes of ancient Greek coins flank the central denomination numeral, the left coin inscribed ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝ and the right inscribed ΑΣΚΛΗΠΙΟΣ, set within an ornate guilloche underprint; the legend ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ appears at top, with ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΕΚΤΗ and the denomination 50 at foot, and the imprint of the American Bank Note Company along the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΕΚΤΗ 50 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY |
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| Comments |
Greece fell under Axis occupation in April 1941, and the collaborationist administration inherited a currency problem immediately. Notes that had been printed by the American Bank Note Company in New York — and which were en route or in reserve when the occupation began — could not be safely released into a German-controlled economy. The punch-hole cancellation was the Bank of Greece's method of formally demonetizing these notes before they could circulate, or be seized and used by occupying forces.
The ABNCo printing contract predates the occupation; these were legitimate wartime reserve stocks, not emergency issues. Cancelled survivors exist in greater numbers than uncancelled examples from this print run.