Catalog
500 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1932 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central vignette of helmeted Pallas Athena in profile facing right, rendered in intaglio with fine line engraving. Denomination numerals '500' appear at left and right flanking the portrait, with the Bank of Greece title and full Greek-language obligation text arranged across the note. Printer's imprint of the American Bank Note Company appears at the lower border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Vignette adapted from the Minoan gold Vaphio Cups (circa 1450–1500 BC), presenting a sequence of bull-hunting scenes: a bull caught in a net, a bull tossing a hunter, and a bull being led captive. The composition is executed in detailed intaglio engraving, reflecting the Minoan artistic tradition of the Late Bronze Age Aegean. Denomination numerals and the Bank of Greece title appear at the margins, with the printer's imprint at the lower border. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| 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.