A new Greek currency? High-tech clicks and low-tech printing

Drachma notes and coins, Greece's national currency before adopting the Euro, are displayed for sale at a street market in Athens in this June 3, 2015, file photo. Even in the digital age, it would take months to create and distribute coins and bank notes if Greece abandons the euro and restores its old currency. Drachma notes and coins, Greece's national currency before adopting the Euro, are displayed for sale at a street market in Athens in this June 3, 2015, file photo. Even in the digital age, it would take months to create and distribute coins and bank notes if Greece abandons the euro and restores its old currency.

By Associated Press July 8, 2015 5 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – With each day, the likelihood is growing that Greece’s financial catastrophe will force it out of the euro currency alliance and compel it to restore its old currency, the drachma.

It won’t be simple.

Even in a computer age, issuing a new national currency is a complex logistical task involving equal parts digital commands and manual labor.

Greece would have to reprogram banks’ computers to make the switch out of euros, the currency it’s used since 2002. Then it would need to design, print and distribute new bills. That process would likely take at least six months.

In the meantime, Greeks would have to use leftover euros and possibly IOUs issued by their government.