Country | Greece |
Authority | Politiki Epitropi Ethnikis Apeleutherosis |
Currency | Oka |
Denomination | 5 |
Issue Start Date | 23/08/1944 |
Set Details | P.E.E.A. Bonds
These were bonds issued by the Politiki Epitropi Ethnikis Apeleutherosis (Political Committee of National Liberation – the communist guerrilla resistance movement) towards the end of the German occupation. Throughout Greece at this time there was a shortage of cash because of problems with printing and distributing adequate amounts of banknotes, a problem added to by the high inflation which made banknotes worthless as soon as they were printed. As a result The P.E.E.A. decided to issue bonds which, according to a resolution of 1944, “could circulate among the public in the place of money so as to facilitate transactions.” To avoid the problem of inflation they were denominated in oka of wheat. An oka is equal to 1.28 kg. They were distributed in the areas where the partisans were active, and were stamped on the back by the regional Administration Committee for the area in which each was used in. In some cases they also have stamps for ETA (Epimeliteia tou Antarti – The Partisan Logistics). The 500 oka note was printed but never circulated. They were printed secretly and illegally in Athens – at the same printer where the Bank of Greece banknotes were being printed. They are all dated 5 June 1944 and were put into circulation from 23 August of that year. Apparently they have not officially been withdrawn. This note has a blue Epirus stamp and a blue ETA stamp. |
Type | Normal |
Material | Paper |
Width in mm | 135 |
Height in mm | 74 |
Source | John Minucos |
BNI Banknote Id | 69437 |
Catalog & Valuation Details
Source | Catalog # / Reference | Value | Date of Value | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
10th Ed SCWPM Specialized Issues | S-0161a v1 | |||
Greek Paper Money, Vol.2 by Theodore Pitidis-Poutous | 409ab |