Greek 2 euros coins
The poorest member of the EU, Greece saw EMU as an essential step towards achieving its strategic and economic ambitions.
In spite of the euro's weakness when
Greece entered the euro-zone on January 1 2001, opinion polls showed that some 70 per cent of Greeks were in favour of membership.
There was little attachment to the drachma, as europe's second-oldest currency was linked in Greek minds with economic and
political backwardness. Greece leveraged the euro to encourage foreign direct investment with a view to the country becoming a
business and transport hub, linking south-east Europe with EU markets.
The following 2 euros coins have circulated in Greece since the introduction of the
Common European Currency on January 1, 2002:
2 euros - Archaeological City of Filippi
Philippi was a city in eastern Macedoniaand its original name was Crenides after its establishment by Thasian colonists in 360/359 BC. The city was renamed by Philip II of Macedon in 356 BC and abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest. The present municipality, Filippoi, is located near the ruins of the ancient city and is part of the ...
| Diameter |
25.75 mm |
| Thickness |
2.2 mm |
| Weight |
8.5 gr |
| Composition |
BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass (75% copper - 20% zinc - 5% nickel) |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Other information |
Designer: George Stamatopoulos |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2017 - Uncirculated |
744,000 pieces |
€ 2.80 |
Buy |
2 euros - Nikos Kazantzakis
The coin marks the 60th year since the death of Nikos Kazantzakis. Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957) was a Greek writer, celebrated for his novels, which include Zorba the Greek, Christ Recrucified (1948), Captain Michalis (1950, translated 'Freedom or Death), and The Last Temptation of Christ (1955). He also wrote plays, travel books, memoirs and philosophical ...
| Diameter |
25.75 mm |
| Thickness |
2.2 mm |
| Weight |
8.5 gr |
| Composition |
BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass (75% copper - 20% zinc - 5% nickel) |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2017 - Uncirculated |
742,000 pieces |
€ 2.80 |
Buy |
2 euros - Dimitris Mitropoulos
The coin is dedicated to the 120 years of the birth of Dimitris Mitropoulos.
Dimitris Mitropoulos was born in Athens on March 1, 1896 and died in Milan on November 2, 1960. He is one of the most prestigious conductors of the twentieth century and possessed a photographic memory that allowed him to direct without score. He did not use baton, ...
| Diameter |
25.75 mm |
| Thickness |
2.2 mm |
| Weight |
8.5 gr |
| Composition |
BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass (75% copper - 20% zinc - 5% nickel) |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Other information |
Designer: Georgios Stamatopoulos |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2016 - Proof |
1,500 pieces |
- |
View |
| 2016 - Uncirculated |
742,500 pieces |
€ 2.95 |
Buy |
2 euros - Arkadi Monastery
The coin marks the 150th anniversary of the arson of the Arkadi Monastery. The original title of the coin was "150 Years of the Holocaust in the Monastery of Arkadi" (which is the way the event is referred to in Greece), but was later changed.
The monastery played an active role in the Cretan resistance of Ottoman rule during the Cretan revolt ...
| Diameter |
25.75 mm |
| Thickness |
2.2 mm |
| Weight |
8.5 gr |
| Composition |
BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass (75% copper - 20% zinc - 5% nickel) |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Other information |
Designer: Georgios Stamatopoulos |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2016 - Uncirculated |
742,500 pieces |
- |
View |
| 2016 - Proof |
1,500 pieces |
- |
View |
2 euros - 75 Years since the Death of Spyridon Louis
In a last minute change, Greece changed the theme of the 2-euro commemorative coin for 2015 from "75th Anniversary of the October 28, 1940," to "75th Anniversary of the death of the Athlete Spiridon Louis ".
Spiridon Louis was a Greek water-carrier who won the first modern-day Olympic marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics, thereby becoming a national ...
| Diameter |
25.75 mm |
| Thickness |
2.2 mm |
| Weight |
8.5 gr |
| Composition |
BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass (75% copper - 20% zinc - 5% nickel) |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2015 - Proof |
1,500 pieces |
- |
View |
| 2015 - Uncirculated |
750,000 pieces |
- |
View |
2 euros - 30th anniversary of the EU flag
In July 2015, the 19 euro-area countries jointly issued a commemorative euro coin celebrating 30 years of the EU flag. Regardless of the country, it bears the same design on the national side, normally reserved for a motif specific to that country.
This is the fourth time the euro-area members have decided to collectively issue a commemorative ...
| Diameter |
25.75 mm |
| Thickness |
2.2 mm |
| Weight |
8.5 gr |
| Composition |
BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass (75% copper - 20% zinc - 5% nickel) |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Other information |
Designer: Georgios Stamatopoulos |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2015 - Proof |
1,500 pieces |
- |
View |
| 2015 - Uncirculated |
750,000 pieces |
- |
View |
Euro collector coin issues
According to the Conclusions of the Ecofin Council meeting on January 31, 2000, to ensure that Euro collector coins will
be readily distinguishable from Euro coins intended for circulation, the coins must bide to the following rules:
- The face value of collector coins should be different from that of the coins intended for circulation (i.e.
Euro coins cannot have a face value equal to the 8 denominations: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 Euro cent and 1 and 2 Euro)
- Collector coins should not use images, which are similar to the common sides of the euro coins intended for
circulation. Furthermore, as far as possible, the designs used should also be at least slightly different from those
of the national sides of circulation coins
- Out of colour, diameter and thickness, euro collector coins should differ significantly from the coins intended
for circulation in two respects
- Collector coins should not have a shaped edge with fine scallops, or "Spanish flower"
- The identity of the issuing Member State should be clearly and easily recognisable
Euro collector coins may be sold at or above face value and the approval for the volume of collector coins issue
should be sought on an aggregate basis rather than for each individual issue. With respect to collector coins'
denominations, that may coincide with the low denominations of euro banknotes, there does not seem to exist any significant
risk of substitution. However, Member States should stand ready to consider any demands by the ECB on this matter. While
Euro collector coins will have legal tender status in the issuing Member State, the competent authorities (NCBs, Mints or
other institutions) should set up temporary arrangements through which owners of euro collector coins issued in other
euro area Member States can receive the face value of those coins while bearing the costs related to this transaction.