Commemorative drachma coins
Commemorative Greek drachma coins have been issued by the Bank of Greece throughout the 20th century. Early (1940–1967) coins were minted in Birmingham, Paris, Vienna, and Prague, but since 1978 all of Greece's commemorative coins have been minted in Athens.
Contents
- Commemorative drachma coins
- 1940 restored monarchy
- 1963 Centennial of the monarchy
- 1964 Royal Wedding
- 1970 military junta
- 1978 50 years Bank of Greece
- 1979 Greece enters the EEC
- 1981 82 14th Paneuropean games
- 1981 1st set
- 1982 2nd set
- 1982 3rd set
- 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games
- 1985 UN Decade on the woman
- 1988 Chess olympiad in Thessaloniki
- 1990 50th anniversary 28 October 1940
- 1991 Mediterranean games in Athens
- 1993 2500 years of democracy
- 1994 Volleyball centennial
- 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games
- 2000 Athens Olympic Games
- 2000 the last drachma
- References
1940 - restored monarchy
Commemorative coins of 1940 were minted to celebrate the five years of the restored Greek monarchy under King George II.
1963 - Centennial of the monarchy
1964 - Royal Wedding
1970 - military junta
In 1970 the Greek junta regime issued a number of commemorative coins with the coup d'état of 1967 as a topic.
1978 - 50 years Bank of Greece
The Bank of Greece celebrated its 50th birthday with a commemorative coin in 1978.
1979 - Greece enters the EEC
The coins issued in 1979 celebrating Greece's entry into the European Economic Community were the first ones to feature the modern version of the Greek plural δραχμές instead of δραχμαί.
1981-82 - 14th Paneuropean games
Coins issued in 1981 and 1982 celebrated the 13th Paneuropean games, which were held in Athens in 1982. Although minted two years after the 1979 coin, all of these coins featured the old spelling δραχμαί again.
1981 - 1st set
1982 - 2nd set
1982 - 3rd set
1984 - Los Angeles Olympic Games
Two commemorative coins were minted in 1984 to celebrate the XXIII Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
1985 - U.N. Decade on the woman
In 1985 two coins were minted celebrating the United Nations Decade for women (1976–1985).
1988 - Chess olympiad in Thessaloniki
The 1988 coins were minted to honour the 28th Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki.
1990 - 50th anniversary 28 October 1940
The two coins minted in 1990 celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Italian invansion in Greece in WW2. The 28th of October is celebrated every year as a national holiday in Greece.
1991 - Mediterranean games in Athens
Two coins were minted in 1991 to celebrate the 11th Mediterranean Games, which were held in Athens that year.
1993 - 2500 years of democracy
An unusual anniversary, 2500 years of democracy, counting from Cleisthenes' democratic constitution of Athens of 508 BCE, was celebrated with two commemorative drachma coins in 1993.
1994 - Volleyball centennial
1994 saw the minting of two coins commemorating the 100 years since the creation of the game volleyball.
1996 - Atlanta Olympic Games
The XXVI Olympic games in Atlanta were celebrated with the minting of three coins. Their common obverse shows the Kallimarmaro stadium in Athens.
2000 - Athens Olympic Games
Released for the upcoming 2004 XXVIII Olympic games to be held in Athens, these six 500 drachmas coins were produced in copper-nickel. Each had a mintage of 4,000,000. They could be purchased as complete sets. The obverse showed a victor's laurel crown. Reverse designs were as follows:
2000 - the last drachma
The last commemorative Greek drachma coin before the introduction of the euro was a gold version of the last single drachma circulation coin.