Object ID
F2014.53
Object Name
Currency
Date Created
1941
Material
Paper
Object Description
Greek 5 drachmas bill:
Obverse: brown background with a picture of the three fates centered behind the text in red. The rest is written in Greek- "the Greek States, the value of 5 drachmas- payble on show in Athens June 18, 1941." The bill is numbered as 462870.
Reverse: printed in light brown ink. Across the top are the Greek words: Legislative Degree No. 193 as of June 17th, 1941. In the middle of the bill is the depiction of an ancient greek ionic column. This is bordered by two large number 5s. The Greek text underneith this symbol is a warning not to falsify or duplicate the bill.
Origin
Greece went through its worst inflation in 1944. In 1942, the highest denomination was 50,000 drachmai. By 1944, the highest denomination was 100,000,000,000 drachmai. In the 1944 currency reform, 1 new drachma was exchanged for 50,000,000,000 drachmai. Another currency reform in 1953 replaced the drachma at an exchange rate of 1 new drachma = 1,000 old drachmai. The overall impact of hyperinflation: 1 (1953) drachma = 50,000,000,000,000 pre 1944 drachmai. The Greek monthly inflation rate reached 8.5 billion percent in October 1944.

Start and End Date: May 1941- Dec. 1945
Peak Month and Rate of Inflation: Nov. 1944, 13,800%
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Currency, 1941, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/10488. Accessed 03/28/24.