Catalog
500 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Reference(s) | P#171 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΑΚΟΣΙΑΙ Πληρωτέαι εις την εμφάνισιν ΕΝ ΑΘΗΝΑΙΣ Ο ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΤΗΣ Ο ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΗΣ 500 |
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| Reverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΑΚΟΣΙΑΙ ΕΚΔΟΣΙΣ ΤΡΙΤΗ 500 |
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| Comments |
Greece in 1944 was simultaneously occupied by Axis forces and experiencing one of the worst hyperinflationary collapses of the twentieth century. The drachma had been effectively destroyed by occupation-era money printing — by late 1944, notes were being issued in denominations reaching into the hundreds of billions. A 500 drachmai note from this period was worth almost nothing at the time of issue.
The November 1944 currency reform replaced wartime drachmai at a rate of 50 billion old drachmai to one new drachma, rendering the entire wartime series obsolete almost immediately after printing.