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This is a specimen of the bonds which were issued when the Greek government cut all banknotes in 1922. In that year the government ordered that all banknotes with a value of over 5 drachmas be cut in half. The left hand halves then circulated as currency at half their original value. The right hand halves were a forcible loan to the government, with bonds being issued to people for the amounts that had been "borrowed" from them. By this method the bankrupt government was able to raise funds without having to go to foreign banks, and to control the repayments. There were 3 values of bond - 1,5,10 (100 drachmas, 500 drachmas, 1000 drachmas). They were issued under Law 2749 of 25 March 1922. They were lottery loans, meaning that at regular intervals (annually or quarterly?) a total of 267 bonds would share in a prize pool of 2 million drachmas paid on top of the regular interest (see the back for details). They were 20 year bonds, which means that the Germans came (in April 1941) before they were paid out. |
