About Greek Euro Coins

All euro coins have one side that represent Europe as a whole, and one side that represents their individual country. The Greek euro coins depict scenes from mythology, Greek political figures, and ships on their national side.

History

Greece switched its currency from the drachma to the euro on January 1, 2002. The Greek coins were designed by George Stamatapoulos.

Features

Greek euro coins come in eight denominations: two euros, one euro, 50 cents, 20 cents, 10 cents, five cents, two cents, and one cent. The Greek coins use the Greek alphabet to name the currency on the national side. Each denomination has a different design.

Designs

The two-euro coin depicts Europa being kidnapped by Zeus; the one-euro coin depicts the owl of Athena; Eleftherios Venizelos, Ioannis Capodistrias, and Rigas Velestinlis-Fereos are on the 50-cent, 20-cent, and 10-cent coins, respectively; and the small coins depict a tanker, a corvette, and a trireme.

Security

The one euro and two euro coins use two different metals sandwiched together, and the 10-, 20-, and 50-cent coins use a Nordic gold alloy to make counterfeiting more difficult. Each country's coins have different lettering around the edge; the Greek coins say, "EΛΛHNIKH "HMOKPATIA".

Geography

The Greek coins are minted in Greece, but can be used throughout the Eurozone, which comprises the 16 European countries that have adopted the euro as their currency.

References

• The Euro Information Website; Greece
• Bank of Greece; The Greek themes on euro coins
• European Central Bank; Euro Security Features

Photo Credit

Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of David