Catalog
500 000 000 Drachmai Kalamata
| Issuer | Bank of Greece (Kalamata Branch) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΤΑΜΕΙΑΚΟΝ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΙΟΝ ΔΡΧ. 500.000.000 ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΜΙΣΤΗΝ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΑΚΟΣΙΑ ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ Η Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος υποχρεούται ν' ανταλλάξη το παρόν Ταμειακόν Γραμμάτιον έναντι Τραπεζογραμματίων επί τη εμφανίσει ΤΟ ΠΑΡΟΝ ΓΙΝΕΤΑΙ ΥΠΟΧΡΕΩΤΙΚΩΣ ΔΕΚΤΟΝ ΕΙΣ ΑΠΑΣΑΣ ΤΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΛΛΑΓΑΣ ΚΑΛΑΜΑΤΑ 20 ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΟΥ 1944 ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΥΠΟΚΑΤΑΣΤΗΜΑ ΚΑΛΑΜΩΝ ΠΡΟΣΩΡΙΝΗ ΑΔ Ι ΚΗ ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΗ Ο ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟΣ Ο ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΕΑΣ |
| Reverse description | Plain light green reverse with no printed vignette or decorative elements. A circular official ink stamp appears at centre, a manuscript signature runs diagonally across the upper portion, and the word ΕΞΕΛΕΓΧΘΗ (meaning 'verified' or 'audited') is printed vertically at the right edge, indicating post-issue control verification. The serial number and series letter are visible in mirror impression from the obverse. |
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| Comments |
By mid-1944, hyperinflation in German-occupied Greece had grown so extreme that the Bank of Greece authorized provincial branches to issue their own emergency notes rather than wait for Athens. The Kalamata branch was among those permitted to do so, producing this 500,000,000 drachmai note at a time when even that sum was losing purchasing power faster than it could be printed. The occupation-era inflation ultimately required a redenomination in November 1944, when the new government exchanged 50 billion old drachmai for a single new one.
Branch-issued notes from this period are considerably scarcer than central issues, Kalamata's among them.