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500 000 Drachmai Agricultural Treasury Bond, second issue
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1943 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Brown and pink letterpress note with a rectangular guilloche border frame. The issuer's name ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ appears in a cartouche at the top, below which the denomination 500.000 ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ is printed in large bold numerals at centre, flanked by the series designation ΣΕΙΡΑ Β! repeated on either side. The lower portion carries multi-line Greek text detailing the bond's legal terms, the issue date EN ΑΘΗΝΑΙΣ ΤΗ 5° ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ 1943, and two manuscript signatures of the Governor and Directors of the Bank of Greece. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain orange-brown underprint on cream paper with a large central guilloche panel bearing the denomination numeral 500.000 in bold outline lettering. The border is formed by a repetitive guilloche band carrying the legend ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ in continuous inscription around all four sides, with small ornamental rosette motifs at the corners. The overall design is deliberately simple, with no vignette or pictorial element beyond the denomination and decorative underprint. |
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| Comments |
Greece's wartime occupation government financed itself partly through forced borrowing, and these Agricultural Treasury Bonds were one mechanism for doing so — nominally instruments of rural credit, practically a way of extracting value from a collapsing economy. By 1943, hyperinflation was already destroying the drachma at a pace that made printed denominations obsolete almost as soon as they were issued. The 500,000 drachmai figure, staggering by prewar standards, was a routine transactional amount within months of issue.
The "second issue" designation matters for attribution. Earlier Agricultural Treasury Bond issues of 1943 differ in serial numbering and overprint characteristics, and misidentification between the two is common in less careful cataloging.