Greek Drachma

The Greek Drachma was the name of the currency used in ancient and modern Greece. It has a long and rich history, spanning from the 6th century BC to the 21st century AD. Here is a brief introduction of the Greek Drachma:

The ancient drachma was an ancient Greek currency unit issued by many 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. The ancient drachma originated in the Greece around the 6th century BC1. The coin, usually made of silver or sometimes gold1 had its origins in a bartering system that referred to a drachma as a handful of wooden spits or arrows. The drachma was unique to each city state that minted them, and were sometimes circulated all over the Mediterranean. The coinage of Athens was considered to be the strongest and became the most popular1. The name drachma is derived from the verb δράσσομαι (drássomai, “(I) grasp”). The drachma was the standard unit of silver coinage at most ancient Greek mints, and the name obol was used to describe a coin that was one-sixth of a drachma1. The drachma had its own set of coins, which featured the image of the gods, goddesses, heroes, and symbols of the Greek culture.

The modern drachma was a modern Greek currency that replaced the phoenix in 1832, after Greece gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire. It was also the ancient money of the Greek empire and city-states. The modern drachma was divided into 100 lepta (singular lepton). The modern drachma had its own set of coins and banknotes, which featured the portrait of King Otto, King George I, King Constantine I, King George II, King Paul, and other prominent figures of the Greek history and politics. The modern drachma was replaced by the euro in 2001, at an exchange rate of 1 euro = 340.75 drachmae. The euro coins and banknotes issued by Greece still feature the image of the owl, the symbol of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and patron of Athens3. The modern drachma was a symbol of the Greek nationhood and democracy, as well as its economic and social progress.

Below is the related paper currencies in Greek Drachma.

1995 GRD10000