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500 000 000 Drachmai Patras
| Issuer | Bank of Greece (Patras Branch) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#165 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΤΑΜΕΙΑΚΟΝ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΙΟΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΜΙΣΤΗΝ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΑΚΟΣΙΑ ΕΚΑΤΟΜΜΥΡΙΑ ΕΝ ΠΑΤΡΑΙΣ ΤΗ 7 ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΥ 1944 ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΥΠΟΚΑΤΑΣΤΗΜΑ ΠΑΤΡΩΝ Ο ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΤΗΣ |
| Reverse description | Reverse entirely plain, printed on unadorned cream-coloured paper with no design elements, vignettes, or printed text, consistent with the emergency wartime issue character of this local treasury note. |
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| Comments |
By late 1944, Greek hyperinflation had destroyed any practical relationship between printed denominations and purchasing power. The Patras branch issue of the 500,000,000 drachmai note is one of several regionally-marked emergency emissions the Bank of Greece authorized as Athens struggled to keep denominations even loosely tethered to market prices — a losing effort. Within weeks of any issue, the face value was effectively worthless relative to actual prices.
The Patras overprint distinguishes this from the Athens-issued equivalent in Pick's listing. Collectors should verify the branch marking carefully; misattribution between regional variants is common in this series.