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Greek 2 drachma coins
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:
  | 2 drachmas - Manto Mavrogenous 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, the island of their origin. She learned with excitement from her father that Philiki Etairia was preparing the Greek revolution. When the news arrived that the struggle for freedom began, Manto invited the leaders of Mykonos to a meeting and persuaded them to join the revolution ...
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  | 2 drachmas - Georgios Karaiskakis 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 last years of the struggle. He was appointed by the first Greek government as chief marshal of Eastern Greece and made Elefsina as his headquarters. He was killed in a clash with the Turks at Faliro, but he is considered the second most important military figure of the revolution, after Kolokotronis. ...
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  | 2 drachmas - Georgios Karaiskakis 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 last years of the struggle. He was appointed by the first Greek government as chief marshal of Eastern Greece and made Elefsina as his headquarters. He was killed in a clash with the Turks at Faliro, but he is considered the second most important military figure of the revolution, after Kolokotronis ...
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  | 2 drachmas - Owl 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. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and the Athenians would choose whichever gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprung up; the water was salty and not very useful, whereas Athena offered them an olive tree. The Athenians (or their king, Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food ...
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  | 2 drachmas - Phoenix 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 listen to the bird sing. Only one phoenix exists at a time. When the bird felt its death was near, every 500 to 1,461 years, it would build a nest of aromatic wood and set it on fire. The bird was then consumed by the flames but a new phoenix sprang forth from the pyre ...
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  | 2 drachmas - King Constantine 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 during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, in which Greece captured Thessaloniki, and doubled in area and population. He succeeded to the throne of Greece on 18 March 1913, following his father's assassination ...
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  | 2 drachmas - King Paul Paul, King of The Hellenes was King of Greece from 1947 to 1964. He was born in Athens, the third son of Constantine I, King of the Hellenes and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia. He was trained as a naval officer and on 9 January 1938 he Frederika of Hanover at Athens. ...
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The size of the images above are related to the diameter of the coins they represent.
