Catalog
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| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Drachmai |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ 500 500 ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΑΚΟΣΙΑΙ AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY (Translation: BANK OF GREECE 500 500 FIVE HUNDRED DRACHMAI AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 500 ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ 500 ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΠΡΩΤΗ AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY (Translation: BANK OF GREECE 500 FIRST ISSUE AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY) |
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| Comments |
This is the 1932-dated 500 Drachmai note, reissued under Axis occupation conditions by the simple expedient of punch-cancellation — three holes driven through the note to withdraw it from legal tender status while simultaneously permitting controlled reuse during the currency chaos of 1941. The practice was an administrative stopgap, not a planned reissue program.
The American Bank Note Company had printed the original series well before the occupation. By 1941, fresh supply from New York was impossible, so existing stocks were mutilated and redistributed rather than destroyed.