National coin of Greece crossword puzzle. What kind of money is in Greece and how much currency to take with you

Now the euro is in use in Greece, but before its appearance in the country, the national currency was the drachma for many centuries. Its history dates back to the 5th century BC. e. The drachma is considered one of the oldest currencies in the world and the most durable. It was the national currency of Greece before the euro. This will be discussed in our article.

Where did the name of the Greek currency, the drachma, come from?

The name of the Greek currency first appeared in the 5th century BC. It was called drachma for a reason. At that time, iron tetrahedral silver and gold twigs – “obols” – were accepted for money. A handful of six of them was called a “drachma.” Translated from the local language, it means “handful” or “palm”. Therefore, the national currency received such a name. Small change was a contribution.

History of the drachma

The Greek drachma first appeared as a national currency during the Hellenic period. The first money in the form of handfuls of metal rods was used from 1100 BC. The drachma was mainly made from silver, rarely from gold.

Every city Ancient Greece had its own name for the currency (Babylonian drachma, Phoenician, etc.). The monetary units of exchange were:

• dodekadrachm, which was equal to 12 drachmas;
• dekadrachm (10);
• octadrachm (8);
• pentadrachm (5);
• tetradrachm (4);
• tridrachm (3);
• didrachm (2).

There are three periods when currency modification took place:

• Ancient Greek. At that time (2000 years ago) silver coins were in use.
• Hellenistic. The Greek currency was used as the main monetary unit by various states.
• Modern. The drachma acquired a new design and face value in the 19th century.

Thanks to the aggressive campaigns of A. Macedonian, the drachma spread to Arab countries, receiving the name “dirahm”. During the Roman Empire, the drachma was replaced by the denarius, then the solidus appeared. In the 15th century, after the capture of Greece by the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish piastre came into use. In 1828, after the liberation of the country, a new currency appeared - the phoenix. But by royal decree of Otto it was replaced with the previous drachma. It was the national currency of the country until 2001, then it was replaced by the euro.

Design and security of the drachma

In a short time, the former national currency of Greece has undergone many modifications. The design of the coins is associated with legends and myths. On front side the nominal value was indicated. The inscriptions were all done strictly in Greek.

It is worth paying special attention to the color scheme. When developing the design of the currency, artists were able to combine different colors and their shades in an unusual way. Thanks to this, the design of Greek banknotes acquired originality and uniqueness. On the back of the banknotes, the sights and cultural values ​​depicted were decorated in an antique style. All the modifications due to which the drachma was modified led to the fact that it became almost impossible to counterfeit coins and banknotes.

Currency of Greece: ancient coins and banknotes

Profiles of the goddess Athena and her symbol, the owl, were minted on coins in the 5th century. When Greece was part of the Byzantine Empire, the solidus was the main gold coin. In 1204, a cross began to be minted on the obverse of the drachma.

The silver drachma was introduced into circulation as the modern Greek national currency in 1833. During the German occupation, new coins began to be minted. They went into circulation in 1944. The new drachma was exchanged for 50 billion old ones. Inflation continued until May 1954. After which the new drachma was equal to a thousand old ones.

The currency of Greece consisted not only of coins, it was also issued in banknotes. The first paper drachmas appeared in the 19th century. The Greek government decided to issue banknotes due to a shortage of precious metals for minting coins. The first banknotes appeared in denominations ranging from five to one hundred phoenixes.

During World War II, banknotes were printed in denominations of tens of billions of drachmas. In 1944, new banknotes were issued in an attempt to avoid inflation, but this did not help. And only in 1955, after the release of new banknotes, inflation stopped. Modern drachma banknotes were printed until January 2001. It was the national currency of Greece before the euro. Before the transition to the euro, banknotes in denominations from 50 to 10,000 drachmas were in use in the country. The largest banknote featured the image of the Greek scientist George Papanikolaou.

Features of Greek coins

A feature of Greek coins was their unique design. Its author was Georgios Stamatopolous. The Greek currency had the following images:

• 5th century Athenian thyreme;
• 19th century corvette;
• modern tanker;
• scene of Zeus abducting Europa;
• Rigas Fereos;
• John Kapodistrias;
• Eleftherios Venizelos (famous politician).

History of the 200 drachma banknote

The 200 drachma banknote has its own separate history. In all the years of banknote production, it was printed only once, in 1996. The obverse depicted the national hero of Greece, Rigas Feraios.

What currency to take to Greece: a reminder for tourists

Now the payment currency in the country is the euro, since Greece is part of the European Union. They pay in this country with these banknotes. There are banknotes different denominations– from 5 to 500 euros; coins - from 1 to 50 cents and one and two euros. When withdrawing money, uniform tariffs apply for countries that are part of the European Union.

Greek banks open from 8 a.m. and close at 2:30 p.m. You can exchange the currency you brought with you at any exchange office. The commission will be up to 2 percent. The euro exchange rate constantly fluctuates, so it is impossible to determine the exact exchange amount in advance.

Small money will be required to avoid problems with change. It should be remembered that banknotes of 100 and 200 euros often turn out to be counterfeit, so it is better to hedge your bets by exchanging for smaller ones.

You can pay in hotels and supermarkets by bank card(visa, mastercard, maestro) or cash. For payments in restaurants and cafes, it is best to exchange large banknotes for small ones in advance.

If you want to wander around the shops, then you need to know that absolutely all of their owners have “problems” with change. This is calculated on the fact that tourists will not take change. This practice exists not only in Greece, but also in Turkey, Egypt and some other resort countries.

Rigos Feraios is another figure in the liberation movement for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire.

The Turks arrested him with the help of the Austrian-Hungarian authorities and strangled him in 1798. His last words were: “I have sown the seeds. The time will come when my country will harvest magnificent fruits.”

All Greek coins of small denominations (5, 2 and 1 lepta) depict ships.

At first glance, the image of the tanker looks strange, since Greece does not produce oil. One might assume that the Greeks export olive oil or wine in such volumes that such a vessel would be appropriate.

In fact, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, with every fifth tanker in the world flying the Greek flag.

The 2 mite coin depicts a ship from the early 19th century. This is a military corvette.

The Greek fleet took an active part in the War of Independence and inflicted several defeats on the Turkish fleet.

The Greeks are proud of their naval victories.

And on the smallest Greek coin in size and denomination, 1 mite, a military trireme of the ancient era is depicted.

This is definitely a trireme, as three rows of oars are clearly visible. For example, this is not visible on the famous bas-relief.

The Greeks are no less proud of the victories of their fleet in ancient times.

In addition to the usual ones, many are produced in Greece commemorative coins made of silver. Apparently, this has been a tradition since ancient times - to mint coins from this precious metal. Several gold commemorative coins have also been issued.

Prices in Greece

You can buy a tour to Greece using the “all inclusive” system and not worry about anything, such tours are quite affordable. But tours with HB meals (breakfast + dinner) are also popular among Russian tourists, and then you will have to buy a lot on the spot.

Prices for food and drinks in Greece are lower than in Italy or Spain.

A snack in a cafe or “fast food outlet” can cost from 4 to 10 euros per person. If you buy food in a supermarket, then food will cost you even less, you can spend 5 euros per lunch.

We talked about prices for souvenirs and gifts from Greece. We talked about alcoholic drinks and gave prices.

Remember an important principle: establishments aimed at tourists = expensive; for local residents = cheap and high quality.

Lunch or dinner in a restaurant will cost you from 25 to 50 euros, depending on the establishment. Prices for excursions range from 25 to 100 euros, it all depends on the distance of the attraction from your resort and the duration of the trip.

How much money to take with you

If you are going on an AI tour (all inclusive), you can only take money with you for excursions at the rate of 50 euros per excursion.

If you are going on a tour using the HB system (breakfast + dinner), then take with you 20-30 euros per person per day for food + money for excursions.

If you are traveling completely on your own, then expect 40-60 euros per person per day for food.

We wish you a good holiday in Greece, and read our articles about this country ( list below).

The euro was introduced into cash circulation in Greece on January 1, 2002, replacing the national currency the drachma.

Each national side of the Greek coin has a unique design, developed by Georgios Stamatopoulos. Small denomination coins depict Greek ships, larger ones depict important Greek figures, and the largest ones depict symbols of ancient Greek history and mythology.
It is interesting to note that only Greece left its historical name small coins - mite (Greek ΛΕΠΤΑ), while all other EU countries have adopted the name "cent".

Euro coins of Greece were minted in different countries: in Greece (no sign), in Spain (sign E), in Finland (sign S), in France (sign F).

On a 1 cent coin depicts a model of a trireme from the time of Cimon, which is located in the Athens Maritime Museum.

On a 2 cent coin depicts a three-masted corvette - a light sailing ship used in the 18th and 19th centuries as a messenger and reconnaissance vessel, as well as for cruising operations.

On a 5 cent coin depicts a modern sea tanker.

1 euro	2 euros

On a 10 cent coin depicts Rigas Velistinlis, also known as Rigas Fereos, a participant in the struggle for the liberation of Greece from the Turkish yoke.

On a 20 cent coin depicts the Greek and Russian statesman Count Ioannis Kapodistrias.

On a 50 cent coin depicts the Greek politician and statesman of the early twentieth century - Eleftherios Venizelos.

On a 1 euro coin depicts a popular silver ancient Greek coin - the Athenian tetradrachm (four drachmas).

On a 2 euro coin depicts a mythological scene of the abduction of Europa, the prototype for which was an ancient mosaic from Sparta.

In Greece, euro coins began to be used for cash transactions on January 1, 2002. Before this, mites were in circulation.

Since Greece entered the eurozone only on January 1, 2001, and its own mint did not have enough capacity to issue required quantity coins, Greece was forced to mint euro coins at the mints of the following countries: Spain (E), Finland (S) and France (F). In subsequent years, coinage was minted only at the Greek mint. On coins minted in 2002, the mint was identified by a letter and located within one of the 12 stars.

All coins have a unique design, with common theme for each of the three coin series. They feature symbols of Greek history and mythology, famous Greek personalities and Greek ships. The design for the Greek euro coins was developed by Georgios Stamatopoulos.

On the obverse of all coins there are 12 EU stars (evenly spaced from each other around the circumference near the edge of the coin), the year of minting, the symbol of the Greek mint(a stylized image of an acanthus leaf) and the engraver's symbol (the letters ΓΣ). In 2007, the general side of the coin underwent changes, and the map of the Eurozone was corrected.

Photo of the coin	Description
	2 euros. On the obverse of the coin, in the center of the disc, there is a stylized image of a scene depicted from the Greek myth “The Rape of Europa by Zeus.” To the upper left of the image is the inscription “ΕYPΩPN” (Europe), below is the horizontal inscription “2 ΕYPΩ”.
	1 euro. On the national side of the coin there is an image of an ancient Athenian coin - the tetradrachm, with an owl depicted on it, which since ancient times has been considered one of the symbols of the goddess Athena. To the right of the owl there is a horizontal inscription “1 ΕYPΩ”.
	50 euro cents. This coin features a portrait of the Greek politician Eleftherios Venizelos. He is known for the fact that when the island of Crete was under Turkish occupation, he organized the Cretan revolutionary movement and uprising, after which the island received autonomy. To the left of the portrait there is a horizontal “50 LEPTA” in two lines.
	20 euro cents. On the coin in the center of the disk there is a portrait of the first ruler and creator of independent Greece - Kapodistrias Ioannis. To the right of the portrait there is a horizontal “20 LEPTA” in two lines.
	10 euro cents. On the obverse of the coin, in the center of the disc, there is a portrait of the Greek writer and revolutionary Rigas Fereos. He developed the idea of ​​equality and brotherhood of all Balkan peoples, the creation of a unitary democratic state (“Greek Republic”) on the Balkan Peninsula and in Asia Minor. To the right of the portrait there is a horizontal “10 LEPTA” in two lines.
	5 euro cents. The coin features an image of a modern Greek sea tanker. Currently, tankers are the main ships used to transport various cargoes, both by sea and domestically. Above the vessel there is a horizontal inscription “5 LEPTA”.
	2 euro cents. On the coin in the center of the disc there is an image of a sailing corvette, the ship that became the flagship of the revolutionary fleet during the Greek War of Independence in 1821-1827. Below the vessel there is a horizontal inscription “2 LEPTA”.
	1 euro cent. This coin features the image of the largest military sea ​​ship- the Athenian trireme, which is also called a trireme because of its three rows of oars. Triremes played an important role in the Greco-Persian Wars, as well as in the formation of the maritime empire of Athens. Below the vessel there is a horizontal inscription “1 LEPTO”.