Catalog
500 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1932 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 500 500 ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ Αʹ Αʹ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΑΚΟΣΙΑΙ ΠΛΗΡΩΤΕΑΙ ΕΠΙ Τῌ ΕΜΦΑΝΙΣΕΙ ΑΘΗΝΗΣΙ Τῌ 1 ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΥ 1932 Ο ΤΑΜΙΑΣ Ο ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΗΣ Ο ΓΕΝΙΚΟΣ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΕΥΣ 500 500 AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY. (Translation: 500 500 Bank of Greece First [issue] Five hundred drachmai Payable on demand Athens, 1 October 1932 Treasurer Governor Secretary General 500 500) |
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| Reverse lettering | 500 500 ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ 500 500 500 ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΗ AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY. (Translation: 500 500 Bank of Greece 500 500 500 First Issue) |
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| Comments |
The 1932 issue came at a brutal moment for Greek public finance. Greece had suspended the gold standard in April of that year, and the drachma was in freefall — a 500-drachmai note represented serious purchasing power against a backdrop of rapid depreciation and public anxiety about the banking system. Tsouderos, who signed this note as Governor, would later serve as Prime Minister of the Greek government-in-exile during the Axis occupation.
ABNC's New York shop produced clean intaglio work throughout this series, and their security printing quality stands in some contrast to what Greek monetary conditions warranted at the time.