Greece P100b(Vg) 1,000 Drachmai – Red Overprint

A Red Stamp of Approval-This 1,000 drachma note (P-100b) was commissioned by the National Bank of Greece in 1926. However, it never saw the light of day until two years later as the bank was losing its sole right to issue notes. The uncirculated banknotes were instead inherited by the newly founded Bank of Greece, which stamped the notes in red with their namesake (??????? ??? ???????) before issuing them to the public. These were among the first notes issued by the bank before they began having their own notes printed in 1932.– Both these notes and the new notes of the Bank of Greece were printed by the American Banknote Company in New York, featuring extremely detailed design. The founder of the National Bank of Greece, Georgios Stavros, is depicted on the obverse, where his portrait is ironically adorned by the stamp of a new bank founded more than a half-century after his death. The Bank of Greece served as the central bank for the remainder of the 20th century, this note declaring the succession of its power.