Athens 2004 - Series E coins
In August 2004, the Olympic Games returned to the country where they were born over 2,500 years ago, and to
Athens the city of their revival in 1896. Within the framework of the Olympic Coin Program, the Greek Mint
issued a series of commemorative coins, Gold and Silver, on which Greek history and heritage were engraved.
The total collection includes 18 coins (6 Gold and 12 Silver) which were released in 6 quarterly issues, each
consisting of 1 Gold and 2 Silver coins. The themes were selected by the Minister for the National Economy and
the Governor of the Bank of Greece, from a set of proposals presented
by a national technical and artistic committee.
|
Series A | Series B | Series C |
Series D | Series E | Series F |
Torch Relay |
| Issue date |
3.3.2003 |
2.6.2003 |
1.9.2003 |
3.11.2003 |
1.4.2004 |
31.5.2004 |
2004 |
The fifth series of the Official Coins of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games was issued on March 1, 2004.
The coins can be purchased individually, in sets of two silver coins and a complete set including all
three coins, the gold and the two silver ones. The collection will be completed with 1 more series.
ItemMerchantDescription: The Acropolis of Athens, is one of the most glorious creations of humankind.
It was constructed between 447 and 432 bc and was originally painted in vivid reds and blues, but the
marble pillars gradually lost their paint and faded to white. It encompasses a remarkable collection of
ancient Greek monuments, including the Parthenon, the Erechtheum, the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike,
and others. The Acropolis represents all the periods of the city that lies at its feet, since all the
historical events of Athens unfolded and centred around this low rock. It is also directly relevant to
athletic events since during the festival of the Panathenaea a torch race took place at night, starting
from the altar of Prometheus in the Academy and ending before the altar of Athena on the top of the rock.
ItemMerchantDescription: Wrestling has been popular throughout recorded history. Early Egyptian and
Babylonian reliefs depict wrestlers using most of the holds known to the modern sport. In ancient Greece,
wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend and literature; wrestling competition, brutal in many
aspects, was the supreme contest of the Olympian Games. On the coin, a modern athlete applies a waist-hold
on his opponent and prepares to twist him round and throw him down to the ground, while in the background
two ancient athletes are pictured in the stance known as akrocheirismos (finger-hold) and are pushing their
heads against each other. This representation has been taken from a black-figure vase.
ItemMerchantDescription: Weightlifting is a sport based on the lifting of a series of progressively
heavier metal weights. It is popular internationally, notably in the United States, the countries of the
former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Finland, Greece,
Turkey, and Cuba. On the coin, a weightlifter executes a snatch move (arase): he is standing and holding
the weights above his head, while the ancient athlete in the background is attempting to lift two natural
stones, in a portrayal inspired by that on a black-figure vase of the 6th-5th century B.C.