The third official set of the Hellenic Republic in Proof quality, contains a complete set of the Greek euro coins (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent coins and 1, 2 euros), as well as two 2 euro commemorative coins celebrating the Union of Crete with Greece and the Founding of the Platonic Academy.
Greek euro coins feature a unique design for every one of the eight coins and they were all designed by Georgios Stamatopoulos. The minor coins depict Greek ships, the middle coins portray famous Greeks and the two large denominations show images of Greek history and mythology.
In 1897 an insurrection in Crete led the Ottoman Empire to declare war on Greece, which led Great Britain, France, Italy and Russia to intervene on the grounds that the Ottoman Empire could no longer maintain control. It was the prelude of the island's final annexation to the Kingdom of Greece, which occurred de facto in 1908 and de jure in 1913.
The Academy was founded by Plato in ca. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years before founding his own school, the Lyceum.
Date of issue: 12 December 2013 |