Greece - 1 cent 2012 (Athenian triere) EUR 0.15
Italy - 2 euros 2007 (50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome) EUR 3.90
Eurozone Package - Complete 17-country Set EUR 127.00
Greece - 50 lepta 1978 (Markos Botsaris) EUR 0.30
Spain - 2 euros 2013 (Monastery and Site of the Escorial, Madrid) EUR 3.50
The name drachma is derived from the verb dratto ("to grasp"), as initially a drachma was a fistful (a "grasp") of six oboloi (metal sticks), which were used as a form of currency as early as 1100 BC. The 5th century BC Athenian tetradrachmon ("four drachmae") coin was the most widely used coin in the Greek world prior to the time of Alexander the Great.
After Alexander the Great's conquests, the name drachma was used in many of the Hellenistic kingdoms in the Middle East, including the Ptolemaic kingdom in Alexandria. The Arabic unit of currency known as dirham known from pre-Islamic times and afterwards, inherited its name from the drachma; the dirham is still the name of the official currencies of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. The Armenian dram also derives its name from the drachma.
The following 2 drachma coins have circulated in Greece until the introduction of the Common European Currency on January 1, 2002:
Amongst the heroines of the Greek War of Independence (1821-1830) was Manto Mavrogenous. She was educated at a college in Triestio and spoke Italian and Turkish. She studied ancient Greek philosophy and history. In 1809 her family returned to Mykonos, ...
Georgios Karaiskakis (1782 - 1827) grew up in poverty and was forced to the mountains as kleftis. He was one of the first to take part in the Greek revolution to gain independence from the Ottoman Empire and his military genius became apparent during ...
The phoenix bird symbolizes immortality, resurrection and life after death in the ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology. According to the Greeks, the bird lives in Arabia, near a cool well and every morning at dawn, the sun god would stop his chariot to ...
The owl was the symbol of goddess Athena and it was first depicted on an ancient Greek tetradrachm (5th century b.C.). Athena was patron of the crafts, wisdom and battle. She became the patron goddess of the city of Athens, in a competition with Poseidon. ...
Constantine I, King of the Hellenes (2 August 1868 - 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was Commander – in - Chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces ...
Greek Drachma coins
Author: Ioannis Androulakis