Greek euro coins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Eurozone (and microstates which mint their own coins) |
| Austria | Belgium |
| Finland | France |
| Germany | Greece |
| Ireland | Italy |
| Luxembourg | Monaco |
| Netherlands | Portugal |
| San Marino | Spain |
| Vatican |
| New Member States |
| Cyprus | Czech Republic |
| Estonia | Hungary |
| Latvia | Lithuania |
| Malta | Poland |
| Slovakia | Slovenia |
| Acceding countries |
| Bulgaria | Romania |
| Other |
| Andorra | Sweden |
| Denominations |
| €0.01 | €0.02 | €0.05 |
| €0.10 | €0.20 | €0.50 |
| €1 | €2 |
| €2 commemorative coins |
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Note: Denmark and the UK currently opt to maintain their national currencies, the krone and the pound. Sweden has not made any effort towards its obligation to join after the failed referendum in 2003. |
Greek euro coins feature a unique design for every one of the eight coins. They were all designed by Georgios Stamatopoulos with the minor coins depicting Greek ships, the middle ones portraying famous Greeks and the two large denominations showing images of Greek history and mythology. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU, the year of imprint and a tiny symbol of the Bank of Greece [1]. 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 (λεπτό; plural lepta, λεπτά) in Greek.
Greece did not enter the eurozone until 2000 and was not able to start minting coins as early as the other eleven member states, so a number of coins circulated in 2002 had not been minted in Athens but in Finland (€1 and €2 - mint mark S), France (1c, 2c, 5c, 10c and 50c - mint mark F) and Spain (20c - mint mark E). 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.
For images of the common side and a detailed description of the coins, see Euro coins.
| € 0.01 | € 0.02 | € 0.05 |
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| An Athenian trireme of the 5th century BC |
A corvette (or dromon) of the early 19th century |
A modern tanker, symbol of Greek enterprise |
| € 0.10 | € 0.20 | € 0.50 |
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| Rigas Velestinlis-Fereos 1757-1798, Greek poet |
Ioannis Kapodistrias 1776- 1831, Greek statesman |
Eleftherios Venizelos 1864- 1936, Greek politician |
| € 1.00 | € 2.00 | € 2.00 Commemorative coin |
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| Picture of a 5th cen. BC 4 drachma coin of Athens (a coin in a coin) |
The abduction of Europa by Zeus in the form of a bull |
A €2 commemorative coin for the Olympic Games held in Athens. |
On the €2 coin edge the words Hellenic Republic in Greek and in Greek script (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία) can be found.
