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500 000 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a large central oval guilloche medallion enclosing the numeral '500,000' in bold figures, set against an intricate engine-turned lathe-work ground of green and olive tones. The bank title 'ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ' runs along the top, while the denomination '500,000' is also repeated in the side margins. The legend 'ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΗ' (First Issue) appears at the bottom center. |
| Reverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ 500,000 ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΗ |
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| Comments |
Greece's 1944 hyperinflation was among the most severe of the Second World War. By the time this note was issued, the occupying Axis powers had effectively stripped the country's foreign currency reserves and forced the Bank of Greece to print its way through the occupation's fiscal demands. The drachma had collapsed so completely that even this 500,000-unit denomination was inadequate for routine transactions within weeks of issue.
The November 1944 currency reform replaced the entire wartime drachma series at a rate of 50 billion old drachmai to one new drachma — a ratio that measures the scale of destruction more precisely than any description could.