Greek euro coins

Last updated April 27, 2023

Greek euro coins feature a unique design for each 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. 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, a name which has also been used for the 1⁄100 denominations of the preceding currencies of the Greek state, the phoenix and drachma.

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), 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, carry only the Greek mint mark.

Greek euro design

For images of the common side and a detailed description of the coins, see euro coins.

Depiction of Greek euro coinage | Obverse side
€0.01	€0.02	€0.05

An Athenian trireme of the 5th century BC	A corvette of the early 19th century	A modern tanker, symbol of Greek enterprise
€0.10	€0.20	€0.50

Rigas Feraios, Greek writer and revolutionary	Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greece's first statesman	Eleftherios Venizelos, Greek politician
€1.00	€2.00	€2 Coin Edge
		The words Hellenic Republic in Greek script (ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ)
Picture of a 5th-century BC 4 drachma coin of Athens (a coin in a coin)	The abduction of Europa by Zeus in the form of a bull

Circulating mintage quantities

The following table shows the mintage quantity for all Greek euro coins, per denomination, per year (the numbers are represented in millions).^[1]

Face Value	€0.01	€0.02	€0.05	€0.10	€0.20	€0.50	€1.00	€2.00	€2.00 CC
2002	100.94	175.94	210.94	138.94	208.94	92.94	61.44	75.34	*
2002 EFS	15.0	18.0	90.0	100.0	120.0	70.0	50.0	70.0	*
2003	35.1	9.4	0.6507	0.5007	0.7007	0.6007	11.60	0.4507	*
2004	49.97	24.97	0.22	9.97	0.47	0.47	9.97	*	34.5
2005	14.95	14.95	0.95	24.95	0.95	0.95	9.95	0.95	*
2006	44.95	44.95	49.95	44.95	0.95	0.95	9.95	0.95	*
2007	60.03	25.0	55.0	60.04	0.95	0.95	24.17	*	3.978549
2008	24.0	68.0	50.0	40.0	20.0	10.0	4.0	1.0	*
2009	49.975	15.975	37.975	45.975	23.975	6.975	17.975	0.975	3.9925
2010	27.0	31.0	5.0	5.0	12.0	6.0	11.0	1.0	2.4925
2011	35.0	47.0	34.0	36.0	1.0	7.0	1.0	*	0.995
2012	48.0	34.0	5.0	*	*	*	*	*	1.0
2013	^**	^**	^**	^**	^**	^**	^**	^**	^**
* No coins were minted that year for that denomination Data not available yet * Small quantities minted for sets only

Greek starter kit

In 2001, the Bank of Greece issued starter kits for the introduction of the Euro.

Identifying marks

National Identifier	None yet
Mint Mark
Engravers Initials	ΓΣ
€2 Edge inscription

Commemorative coins

Greece has a good collection of euro commemorative coins, mainly in silver although a few coins have also been minted in gold. Their face value range from €10 to €200. This is mainly done as a legacy of an old national practice of minting gold and silver coins. These coins are not really intended to be used as means of payment, so generally they do not circulate. Here you can find some samples:

Gold, 200 euro, 75th anniversary of Bank of Greece (2003)
Silver, 10 euro, Patras European Capital of Culture (2006)
Silver, 10 euro, Acropolis Museum (2008)
50th Anniversary of the Signature of the Treaty of Rome (2007)

Related Research Articles

The drachma was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:

An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, from the Archaic period throughout the Classical period, the Hellenistic period up to the Roman period under Greek Imperial Coinage.
Three modern Greek currencies, the first introduced in 1832 by the Greek King Otto (Όθων) and the last replaced by the euro in 2001. The euro did not begin circulating until 2001 but the exchange rate was fixed on 19 June 2000, with legal introduction of the euro taking place in January 2002.

There are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros. The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone has its own design on the obverse, which means that each coin has a variety of different designs in circulation at once. Four European microstates that are not members of the European Union use the euro as their currency and also have the right to mint coins with their own designs on the obverse side.

Belgian euro coins feature only a single design for all eight coins: the portrait or effigy of the King of the Belgians. Previously, all Belgian euros depicted King Albert II and his royal monogram. Current coins depict King Philippe. Also part of the design by Jan Alfons Keustermans are the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint.

German euro coins have three separate designs for the three series of coins. The 1-cent, 2-cent and 5-cent coins were designed by Rolf Lederbogen, the design for the 10-cent, 20-cent and 50-cent coins were designed by Reinhard Heinsdorff and the 1- and 2-euro coins were done by Heinz Hoyer and Sneschana Russewa-Hoyer. Featured in all designs are the 12 stars of the EU and the year of minting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish euro coins</span>

Irish euro coins all share the same design by Jarlath Hayes, that of the harp, a traditional symbol for Ireland since the Middle Ages, based on that of the Brian Boru harp, housed in Trinity College Dublin. The same harp is used as on the official seals of the Taoiseach, and government ministers and the Seal of the President of Ireland. The coins' design also features the 12 stars of the EU, the year of issue and the Irish name for Ireland, "Éire", in a traditional Gaelic script.

Finnish euro coins feature three designs. Heikki Häiväoja provided the design for the 1 cent – 50 cent coins, Pertti Mäkinen provided the design for the 1 euro coin, and Raimo Heino provided the design for the 2 euro coin, which shows cloudberry, the golden berry of northern Finland. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint.

Austrian euro coins have a unique design for each denomination, with a common theme for each of the three series of coins. The minor coins feature Austrian flowers, the middle coins examples of architecture from Austria's capital, Vienna, and the two major coins famous Austrians. All designs are by the hand of Josef Kaiser and also include the 12 stars of the EU, Flag of Austria and the year of imprint.

Italian euro coins have a design unique to each denomination, though there is a common theme of famous Italian works of art throughout history. Each coin is designed by a different designer, from the 1 cent to the 2 euro coin they are: Eugenio Driutti, Luciana De Simoni, Ettore Lorenzo Frapiccini, Claudia Momoni, Maria Angela Cassol, Roberto Mauri, Laura Cretara and Maria Carmela Colaneri. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU, the year of imprint, the overlapping letters "RI" for Repubblica Italiana and the letter R for Rome. There are no Italian euro coins dated earlier than 2002, even though they were certainly minted earlier, as they were first distributed to the public in December 2001.

Vatican euro coins are issued by the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State and minted by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS), in Rome, Italy. The euro is the official currency of the Vatican City, although Vatican City is not a member of the Eurozone or the European Union.

Philippine peso coins are issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for circulation in the Philippines and are currently available in seven denominations. The Philippine peso has been in use since Spanish rule.

There have been three sets of coins in Ireland since independence. In all three, the coin showed a Celtic harp on the obverse. The pre-decimal coins of the Irish pound had realistic animals on the reverse; the decimal coins retained some of these but featured ornamental birds on the lower denominations; and the euro coins used the common design of the euro currencies. The pre-decimal and original decimal coins were of the same dimensions as the same-denomination British coins, as the Irish pound was in currency union with the British pound sterling. British coins were widely accepted in Ireland, and conversely to a lesser extent. In 1979 Ireland joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism and the Irish pound left parity with sterling; coin designs introduced after this differed between the two countries.

Slovenian euro coins were first issued for circulation on 1 January 2007 and a unique feature is designed for each coin. The design of approximately 230 million Slovenian euro coins was unveiled on 7 October 2005. The designers were Miljenko Licul, Maja Licul and Janez Boljka. The Mint of Finland was chosen to mint the coins through an international tender in 2007.

Cypriot euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004, and is a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union. It has completed the third stage of the EMU and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2008.

Maltese euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. Malta has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004, and is a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union. Malta adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2008, replacing the Maltese lira. For a period of one month until 31 January, there was a dual circulation for Malta where the Euro and Maltese lira were used alongside each other.

The Swiss franc has been the currency of Liechtenstein since 1920. The Swiss franc is legal tender since Liechtenstein is in a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. The 1980 treaty between Switzerland and Liechtenstein allows Liechtenstein to mint limited amounts of Swiss francs with a Liechtenstein inscription, but only in the form of commemorative coins, and they are not allowed to issue banknotes.

The coins of Canada are produced by the Royal Canadian Mint and denominated in Canadian dollars ($) and the subunit of dollars, cents (¢). An effigy of the reigning monarch always appears on the obverse of all coins. There are standard images which appear on the reverse, but there are also commemorative and numismatic issues with different images on the reverse.

The three-dollar piece was a gold coin produced by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1854 to 1889. Authorized by the Act of February 21, 1853, the coin was designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre. The obverse bears a representation of Lady Liberty wearing a headdress of a Native American princess and the reverse a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco.

The gold dollar or gold one-dollar piece is a gold coin that was struck as a regular issue by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1849 to 1889. The coin had three types over its lifetime, all designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre. The Type 1 issue has the smallest diameter of any United States coin minted to date.

Before the introduction of the euro, the current eurozone members issued their own individual national coinage, most of which featured mint marks, privy marks and/or mint master marks. These marks have been continued as a part of the national designs of the euro coins, as well. This article serves to list the information about the various types of identifying marks on euro coins, including engraver and designer initials and the unique edge inscriptions found on the €2 coins.

Gold and silver issues of the euro commemorative coins are collectors' euro coins not primarily intended for general circulation; the commemoratives also include rare cases of bimetal collector coins, such as titanium and niobium.

References

↑ "Circulating Mintage quantities". Henning Agt. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2008.

External links

European Central Bank – Greece

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[1] "Circulating Mintage quantities". Henning Agt. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2008.

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