Object ID
F2014.65
Object Name
Currency
Date Created
1944
Material
Paper
Object Description
Greek 500 million drachmas bill:
Obverse: green and blue background with swirls and a picture of the Olymipic god Apollo on the left. There is Greek writing next to this which says- "The Kingdom of Greece, the value of 500 million drachmas- payble on show in Athens October 1th, 1944." The bill is numbered as 408869P
Reverse: printed entirely in blue ink scrolls. The heading in the border says "The Bank of Greece." In the middle of the bill is a large image of a relief of two horsemen riding in capes. This is bordered by twp other large number 500s. The Greek text underneith this says "first edition"
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, 1944, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/10509. Accessed 03/29/24.