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 |
€ 3.92 |
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 |
€ 3.92 |
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 |
€ 4.13 |
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 - Uncirculated |
750,000 pieces |
- |
View |
| 2015 - Proof |
1,500 pieces |
- |
View |
2 euros - Union of the Ionian Islands with Greece
The coin celebrates the 150th Anniversary of the Union of the Ionian Islands with Greece.
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece, traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e. "the Seven Islands". From 1204, the Republic of Venice controlled Corfu and slowly all the Ionian islands fell under Venetian rule. In 1797 Napoléon Bonaparte conquered ...
| 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: M. Antonatou |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2014 - Uncirculated |
750,000 pieces |
- |
View |
2 euros - 400 Years since the Death of El Greco
El Greco, born Doménikos Theotokópoulos (1541 – 7 April 1614), was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance.
"El Greco" (The Greek) was a nickname, a reference to his national Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters. He was born in Crete, which was at that time part ...
| 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: M. Antonatou |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2014 - Uncirculated |
750,000 pieces |
€ 4.73 |
Buy |
2 euros - Union of Crete with Greece
The Cretan State was established in 1898, following the intervention by the Great Powers (Britain, France, Italy and Russia) on the island of Crete.
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 ...
| Krause - Mishler |
#253 |
| 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 |
Issued in July 2013 |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2013 - Uncirculated |
750,000 pieces |
- |
View |
2 euros - Founding of the Platonic Academy
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.
The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic period as a skeptical school, until coming to an end after the death of Philo of Larissa in 83 BC. Although philosophers continued to teach Plato's philosophy ...
| Krause - Mishler |
#252 |
| 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 |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Other information |
Issued on 8 July 2013 |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2013 - Uncirculated |
750,000 pieces |
€ 4.66 |
Buy |
2 euros - 10 years of euro banknotes and coins
On 1 January 2002, euro banknotes and coins were introduced in 12 Member States of the European Union. The introduction of the euro cash was
an unprecedented challenge, but it went smoothly, and billions of banknotes and coins started to circulate in a matter of days. Five more Member States adopted the euro in later years, so a total of 17 Member ...
| Krause - Mishler |
#245 |
| 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 |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Other information |
Designer: Helmut Andexlinger |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2012 - Uncirculated |
1,000,000 pieces |
€ 4.39 |
Buy |
2 euros - Europa abducted by Zeus
Portrays 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 gathering flowers and immediately fell in love with her. Zeus transformed himself into a white bull and carried ...
| Krause - Mishler |
#215 |
| 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: G.Stamatopoulos - 2 Varieties (A and B) |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2012 - Uncirculated |
1,000,000 pieces |
- |
View |
| 2010 - Uncirculated |
1,975,000 pieces |
€ 7.43 |
Buy |
| 2009 - Uncirculated |
982,500 pieces |
€ 7.70 |
Buy |
| 2008 - Uncirculated |
1,007,522 pieces |
€ 7.43 |
Buy |
| 2007 - Uncirculated |
20,000 pieces |
- |
View |
2 euros - XIII Special Olympics World Summer Games
The 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held during Summer 2011 in Athens, Greece, from 25 June to 4 July 2011. Special Olympics is a non-profit organization that was officially founded in 1968, giving form to the vision of it's founder, Eunice Kennedy-Shriver (1921-2009), sister of USA President John F Kennedy.
The center of the coin ...
| Krause - Mishler |
#239 |
| 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 |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Other information |
Designer: Georgios Stamatopoulos
Legend: XIII SPECIAL OLYMPICS W.S.G. ATHENS 2011 - HELLENIC REPUBLIC |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2011 - Uncirculated |
1,000,000 pieces |
€ 5.06 |
Buy |
2 euros - 25th Centenary of the Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece.
The inner part of the coin shows a synthesis ...
| Krause - Mishler |
#236 |
| 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 |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2010 - Uncirculated |
2,500,000 pieces |
- |
View |
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 exchange rates between the euro and legacy currencies in the Eurozone became fixed.
The coin ...
| Krause - Mishler |
#227 |
| 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 |
| Edge |
Edge lettering (Hellenic Republic), fine milled |
| Other information |
Designer: Georgios Stamatopoulos
Legend:  |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2009 - Uncirculated |
4,000,000 pieces |
€ 5.67 |
Buy |
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 occasion by jointly issuing this commemorative coin.
The coin shows the Treaty document ...
| Krause - Mishler |
#216 |
| 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 |
Legend: Treaty of Rome - 50 years of Europe - Hellenic Republic |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2007 - Uncirculated |
3,978,549 pieces |
€ 6.08 |
Buy |
2 euros - Europa abducted by Zeus
Portrays 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 gathering flowers and immediately fell in love with her. Zeus transformed himself into a white bull and carried ...
| Krause - Mishler |
#188 |
| 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: G.Stamatopoulos - 2 Varieties (A and B) |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2006 - Uncirculated |
950,000 pieces |
€ 6.75 |
Buy |
| 2005 - Uncirculated |
950,000 pieces |
€ 7.83 |
Buy |
| 2003 - Uncirculated |
450,700 pieces |
€ 6.00 |
Buy |
| 2002 - Uncirculated |
75,340,055 pieces |
- |
View |
| 2002 "S" - Suomi - Uncirculated |
70,000,000 pieces |
- |
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 in the statue is an example of rhythmos, harmony and balance and Myron is often credited as being ...
| Krause - Mishler |
#209 |
| 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 |
2 Varieties (A and B) |
| Year |
Mintage |
Price |
Shop |
| 2004 - Uncirculated |
34,500,000 pieces |
€ 6.08 |
Buy |
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.