Greek 2 euro 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.

All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU, the year of imprint and a tiny symbol of the Bank of Greece (the anthemion flower). Uniquely, the value of the coins is expressed on the national side in the Greek alphabet, as well as being on the common side in the Roman alphabet. The euro cent is known as the lepto (plural lepta) in Greek, in reference to the former currency, the drachma, which was divided into 100 lepta.

Greece did not enter the eurozone until 2001 and was not able to start minting coins as early as the other eleven member states, so a number of coins circulated in 2002 were not minted in Athens but in Finland (€1 and €2 - mint mark S = Suomi), France (1c, 2c, 5c, 10c and 50c - mint mark F) and Spain (20c - mint mark E = Espana). The coins minted in Athens for the Euro introduction in 2002 as well as all the subsequent Greek euro coins do not carry any mint mark.

The following 2 euros coins have circulated in Greece since the introduction of the Common European Currency on January 1, 2002:

2 euros - 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome

The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community and ultimately led to the introduction of the euro in 1999 and the euro banknotes and coins in 2002. The anniversary was celebrated on 25 March 2007 and the euro area countries have marked the ...

Krause - Misler	#216
Diameter	25.75 mm
Thickness	2.2 mm
Weight	8.5 gr
Composition	BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring CuNi25, center CuAl5Zn5Sn1
Edge	Combination of the number 2 and ** repeated six times
Comments	Legend: TRAITÉ DE ROME/50 ANS/EUROPE/LËTZEBUERG

Date	Mintage	Grade	Price	Shop
2007	3,978,549	Uncirculated	€ 3.3	Buy

2 euros - Europa abducted by Zeus

Portrays a scene a scene from a mosaic in Sparta (third century AD), showing Europa being abducted by Zeus, who has taken the form of a bull. In Greek mythology Europa was a beautiful Phoenician princess, daughter of Agenor and Telephassa. Zeus saw her ga ...

Krause - Misler	#215
Diameter	25.75 mm
Thickness	2.2 mm
Weight	8.5 gr
Composition	BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring CuNi25, center CuAl5Zn5Sn1
Edge	Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled
Comments	Designer: G.Stamatopoulos - 2 Varieties (A and B)

Date	Mintage	Grade	Price	Shop
2009	982,500	Uncirculated	-	View
2008	1,000,000	Uncirculated	€ 3.2	Buy
2007	20,000	Uncirculated	-	View

2 euros - Myron Discus Thrower

The Discobolus of Myron ("discus thrower") is a famous Roman marble copy of a lost Greek bronze original, completed during the zenith of the classical period between 460-450 BC. A discus thrower is depicted about to release his throw. The moment captured ...

Krause - Misler	#209
Diameter	25.75 mm
Thickness	2.2 mm
Weight	8.5 gr
Composition	BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring CuNi25, center CuAl5Zn5Sn1
Edge	Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled
Comments	2 Varieties (A and B)

Date	Mintage	Grade	Price	Shop
2004	35,000,000	Uncirculated	€ 3.2	Buy

2 euros - Europa abducted by Zeus

Portrays a scene a scene from a mosaic in Sparta (third century AD), showing Europa being abducted by Zeus, who has taken the form of a bull. In Greek mythology Europa was a beautiful Phoenician princess, daughter of Agenor and Telephassa. Zeus saw her ga ...

Krause - Misler	#188
Diameter	25.75 mm
Thickness	2.2 mm
Weight	8.5 gr
Composition	BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring CuNi25, center CuAl5Zn5Sn1
Edge	Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled
Comments	Designer: G.Stamatopoulos - 2 Varieties (A and B)

Date	Mintage	Grade	Price	Shop
2006	1,000,000	Uncirculated	€ 3.3	Buy
2005	1,000,000	Uncirculated	€ 3.5	Buy
2003	550,000	Uncirculated	€ 2.9	Buy
2002	74,400,000	Uncirculated	€ 4	Buy
2002 - "S - Suomi"	70,000,000	Uncirculated	€ 4	Buy

2 euros - 10th anniversary of the EMU and the birth of the euro

A first attempt to create an economic and monetary union between the members of the European Communities goes back to an initiative by the European Commission in 1969. However, the introduction of the euro started principally on 31 December 1998, when the ...

Diameter	25.75 mm
Thickness	2.2 mm
Weight	8.5 gr
Composition	BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring CuNi25, center CuAl5Zn5Sn1
Edge	Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled
Comments	Designer: Georgios Stamatopoulos Legend:

Date	Mintage	Grade	Price	Shop
2009	4,000,000	Uncirculated	€ 2.9	Buy

The size of the images above are related to the diameter of the coins they represent.

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
1. Collector coins should not have a shaped edge with fine scallops, or "Spanish flower"
2. 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.