Catalog
5000 Drachmai punch holes
| Issuer | Bank of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of Athena in profile, helmeted and in classical armour, set within an oval guilloche frame. The numeral 5000 appears in large bold figures to either side of the vignette, with the bank title ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ in letterpress at the top and the denomination legend ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΕ ΧΙΛΙΑΔΕΣ on a central panel below. Serial numbers and two signatory lines — Ο ΤΑΜΙΑΣ and Ο ΓΕΝΙΚΟΣ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΕΥΣ — appear in the lower field, with the note cancelled by punch holes. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΔΡΑΧΜΑΙ ΠΕΝΤΕ ΧΙΛΙΑΔΕΣ ΠΡΩΤΕΙ ΕΠΙ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΝΙΚΟΣ ΑΔΗΝΣΙ ΤΗ 1 ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΟΥ 1932 Ο ΤΑΜΙΑΣ Ο ΓΕΝΙΚΟΣ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΕΥΣ |
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| Comments |
When Italy invaded Greece in October 1940, the existing currency infrastructure came under immediate strain. This note was printed by the American Bank Note Company in New York for the Bank of Greece, part of a broader effort to maintain supply ahead of the Axis occupation that followed in April 1941. The punch cancellation — not a defacement but a deliberate demonetization procedure — indicates this example was officially withdrawn from circulation rather than redeemed through normal channels.
Cancelled remainders from this series occasionally surface with the holes misread as damage. They are not.