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500 Drachmai
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1950-1953 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Banknote and Currency Printing Office (Ίδρυμα Εκτυπώσεων Τραπεζογραμματίων και Αξιών / Idryma Ektiposeos Trapezogrammation kai Axion), Holargos, Greece (1947-date) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A central oval intaglio vignette presents the Paraportiani Church of Mykonos set against a rocky landscape with cactus plants in the foreground, enclosed within an elaborate guilloche frame. The denomination "500" and "ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΑΚΟΣΙΑΙ" appear in large letterpress numerals and text at both left and right, with the issuing authority inscription running along the lower margin. |
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| Variants | P#325a - 10.07.1950 P#325b - 01.11.1953 |
| Comments |
Greece redenominated its currency in 1944 at a rate of 50 billion old drachmai to one new drachma, one of the most severe hyperinflationary collapses in recorded monetary history. By the early 1950s the economy was still fragile, and this 500 Drachmai note circulated during a period of IMF-backed stabilization when public confidence in paper currency had barely begun to recover.
The printing facility at Holargos, established in 1947, was a deliberate policy decision — Greece's dependence on foreign printers during the occupation years had left the country exposed, and domestic production capacity was seen as a sovereignty measure worth the infrastructure investment.