"still constitute a majority of part-time workers, recently men have been taking a larger share of part-time employment. Between 1832 and 2002 the currency of Greece was the drachma. After signing the Maastricht Treaty, Greece applied to join the eurozone. The two main convergence criteria were a maximum budget deficit of 3% of GDP and a declining public debt if it stood above 60% of GDP. Greece met the criteria as shown in its 1999 annual public account. On 1 January 2001, Greece joined the eurozone, with the adoption of the euro at the fixed exchange rate ₯340.75 to €1."
"Greek drachma Drachma ( , ; pl. ""drachmae"" or ""drachmas"") was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: It was also a small unit of weight. The name ""drachma"" is derived from the verb (, ""(I) grasp""). It is believed that the same word with the meaning of ""handful"" or ""handle"" is found in Linear B tablets of the Mycenean Pylos. Initially a drachma was a fistful (a ""grasp"") of six ""oboloí"" or ""obeloí"" (metal sticks, literally ""spits"") used as a form of currency as early as 1100 BC and being a form of ""bullion"": bronze,"
"5 drachmae) were issued from 1885, with the first 5-drachma notes being made by cutting 10-drachma notes in half. When Greece finally achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1828, the phoenix was introduced as the monetary unit; its use was short-lived, however, and in 1832 the phoenix was replaced by the drachma, adorned with the image of King Otto of Greece, who reigned as modern Greece's first king from 1832 to 1862. The drachma was divided into 100 lepta. In 2002 the drachma ceased to be legal tender after the euro, the monetary unit of the European Union,"
"of Greece and thus averted a collapse of the banking system, which had occurred in most other European countries as well as the United States. Under the Second Republic, the Greek drachma (sign: ₯, Δρ or Δρχ) continued to exist as the national currency. As part of the government's efforts to reform the banking system (see above), the Bank of Greece was established in 1928. Following this move, Greece's largest commercial bank, the National Bank of Greece, could no longer print currency. In addition, Greece joined the gold standard on 14 May 1928 and the Drachma was ""de facto"" stabilised"
"Phoenix (currency) The phoenix (, ""foinix"") was the first currency of the modern Greek state. It was introduced in 1828 by Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias and was subdivided into 100 ""lepta"". The name was that of the mythical phoenix bird and was meant to symbolize the rebirth of Greece during the still ongoing Greek War of Independence. The ""phoenix"" replaced the Ottoman ""kuruş"" (called ""grosi"" γρόσι, plural γρόσια ""grosia"" by the Greeks) at a rate of 6 phoenixes = 1 ""kuruş"". The creation of a national currency was one of the most pressing issues for the newborn Greek state, so that"
"additional 300,000 phoenixes as paper currency with no underlying assets to back them. As a result, the paper notes were universally rejected by the public. In 1832, with the arrival of King Otto as monarch, the currency system was reformed and the ""drachma"" was introduced to replace the ""phoenix"" at par. Phoenix (currency) The phoenix (, ""foinix"") was the first currency of the modern Greek state. It was introduced in 1828 by Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias and was subdivided into 100 ""lepta"". The name was that of the mythical phoenix bird and was meant to symbolize the rebirth of Greece during"
"in both measures throughout historic Greece was the cotyle or cotyla whose absolute value varied from one place to another between 210 ml and 330 ml. The basic unit for both solid and liquid measures was the (kyathos, plural: kyathoi). The Attic liquid measures were: and the Attic dry measures of capacity were: The basic unit of Athenian currency was the obol, weighing approximately 0.72 grams of silver: Weights are often associated with currency since units of currency involve prescribed amounts of a given metal. Thus for example the English pound has been both a unit of weight and a"
"pay 'to the very last mite' before being released from prison. In the Hasmonean Kingdom the lepton was first minted under Alexander Jannaeus prior to 76 B.C.E. In modern Greece, ""lepton"" (modern form: ""lepto"", λεπτό) is the name of the 1/100 denomination of all the official currencies of the Greek state: the phoenix (1827–1832), the drachma (1832–2001) and the euro (2002–current) – the name is the Greek form of ""euro cent"". Its unofficial currency sign is Λ (lambda). Since the late 1870s, and until the introduction of the euro in 2001, no Greek coin had been minted with a denomination"
"20 and 50 drachmae, soon followed by 100, 500 and 1000 drachmae by 1956. 5000-drachma notes were introduced in 1984, followed by 10,000-drachma notes in 1995 and 200-drachma notes in 1997. Banknotes in circulation at the time of the adoption of the euro were In Unicode, the currency symbol is . There is a special Attic numeral, for the value of one drachma but it fails to render in most browsers. The Drachmi Greek Democratic Movement Five Stars which was founded in 2013, aims to restore the Drachma, as Greece's currency. Greek drachma Drachma ( , ; pl. ""drachmae"" or"
"became Greece's sole currency. Between 1917 and 1920, the Greek government issued paper money in denominations of 10 lepta, 50 lepta, 1 drachma, 2 drachmae, and 5 drachmae. The National Bank of Greece introduced 1000-drachma notes in 1901, and the Bank of Greece introduced 5000-drachma notes in 1928. The Greek government again issued notes between 1940 and 1944, in denominations ranging from 50 lepta to 20 drachmae. In 1922, the Greek government issued a forced loan in order to finance the budget deficit. On April 1, 1922, the government decreed that half of all bank notes had to be surrendered"
"exchanged for new ones at the rate of 50,000,000,000 to 1. Only paper money was issued. The government issued notes of 1, 5, 10 and 20 drachmae, with the Bank of Greece issuing 50-, 100-, 500-, 1000-, 5000-, and 10,000-drachma notes. This drachma also suffered from high inflation. The government later issued 100-, 500-, and 1000-drachma notes, and the Bank of Greece issued 20,000-and 50,000-drachma notes. In 1953, in an effort to halt inflation, Greece joined the Bretton Woods system. In 1954, the drachma was revalued at a rate of 1000 to 1. The new currency was pegged at 30"
"Union collapsed due to World War I. Between 1926 and 1930, a new coinage was introduced for the new Hellenic Republic, consisting of cupro-nickel coins in denominations of 20 lepta, 50 lepta, 1 drachma, and 2 drachmae; nickel coins of 5 drachmae; and silver coins of 10 and 20 drachmae. These were the last coins issued for the first modern drachma, and none were issued for the second. Notes were issued by the National Bank of Greece from 1841 until 2001 when Greece joined the Euro. Early denominations ranged from 10 to 500 drachmae. Smaller denominations (1, 2, 3 and"
"in the Magna Graecia and Etruscan civilization, the Romans introduced a widespread currency. Unlike most modern coins, Roman coins had intrinsic value. While they contained precious metals, the value of a coin was higher than its precious metal content, so they were not bullion. Estimates of their value range from 1.6 to 2.85 times their metal content, thought to equal the purchasing power of 10 modern British Pound Sterling (US$15) at the beginning of the Roman Empire to around 18 Pound Sterling (US$29) by its end (comparing bread, wine and meat prices) and, over the same period, around one to"
"of the subdivision Taurus). It replaced the ""phoenix"" at par. The drachma was subdivided into 100 lepta. The first coinage consisted of copper denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 lepta, silver denominations of , , 1 and 5 drachmae and a gold coin of 20 drachmae. The drachma coin weighed 4.5 g and contained 90% silver, with the 20-drachma coin containing 5.8 g of gold. In 1868, Greece joined the Latin Monetary Union and the drachma became equal in weight and value to the French franc. The new coinage issued consisted of copper coins of 1, 2, 5 and"
"Greek mint mark. For images of the common side and a detailed description of the coins, see euro coins. The following table shows the mintage quantity for all Greek euro coins, per denomination, per year (the numbers are represented in millions). In 2001, the Bank of Greece issued starter kits for the introduction of the Euro. 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 euro. This is mainly done as a legacy of an old national practice of"
"profile bust of Athena on the obverse (front) and an owl on the reverse (back). In daily use they were called ""glaukes"" (owls), hence the proverb , 'an owl to Athens', referring to something that was in plentiful supply, like 'coals to Newcastle'. The reverse is featured on the national side of the modern Greek 1 euro coin. Drachmae were minted on different weight standards at different Greek mints. The standard that came to be most commonly used was the Athenian or Attic one, which weighed a little over 4.3 grams. A drachma was approximately a day's pay for a"
"first demonstration took place in Athens, Syntagma Square in June 2012 in between two major elections that brought to the country political instability and financial insecurity. A Grexit, assuming that it coincided with adoption of a new currency, would require preparation, for example with capacity for banknote stamping or printing a stock of new banknotes. However, information leaking out on such preparations might lead to negative dynamic effects, like bank runs. Conversely, leaving the Eurozone, but retaining the Euro as de facto currency, would avoid the practical issues and relieve the country of the burden of its Eurozone responsibilities. In"
"white background. The museum collection also contains the pre-Kapodistrian treasury bonds issued by the provisional Greek government in ""pisters"" or ""grossia"". The National Bank of Greece was established in 1841 and the ancient drachma became once more the official currency of Greece. The museum exhibits the first banknotes printed by the British printing houses Perkins Bacon or Bradbury Wilkins. The collection also includes the notes printed by the American Banknote Company which succeeded the British at the turn of the century. The American company printed Greek banknotes until about 1928. Subsequent to that the Bank of Greece undertook the printing"
"the Greek state; signed the peace treaty that ended the War of Independence with the Ottomans; introduced the ""phoenix"", the first modern Greek currency; organised local administration; and, in an effort to raise the living standards of the population, introduced the cultivation of the potato into Greece. Furthermore, he tried to undermine the authority of the traditional clans (or dynasties) that he considered the useless legacy of a bygone and obsolete era. However, he underestimated the political and military strength of the ""capetanei"" (καπεταναίοι – commanders) who had led the revolt against Ottoman Empire in 1821, and who had expected"
"Stater The stater ( or ; , literally ""weight"") was an ancient coin used in various regions of Greece. The term is also used for similar coins, imitating Greek staters, minted elsewhere in ancient Europe. The stater, as a Greek silver currency, first as ingots, and later as coins, circulated from the 8th century BC to AD 50. The earliest known stamped stater (having the mark of some authority in the form of a picture or words) is an electrum turtle coin, struck at Aegina that dates to about 700 BC. It is on display at the Bibliothèque Nationale in"
"However, in 2001 the euro only existed electronically, so the physical exchange from drachma to euro only took place on 1 January 2002. This was followed by a ten-year period for eligible exchange of drachma to euro, which ended on 1 March 2012. Prior to the adoption of the euro, 64% of Greek citizens viewed the new currency positively, but in February 2005 this figure fell to 26% and by June 2005 it fell further to 20%. Since 2010 the figure has risen again, and a survey in September 2011 showed that 63% of Greek citizens viewed of the euro"
"Greek gold coins for more Egyptian ones, or for more material goods. This is why, at some point in their history, most world currencies in circulation today had a value fixed to a specific quantity of a recognized standard like silver and gold. During the 15th century, the Medici family were required to open banks at foreign locations in order to exchange currencies to act on behalf of textile merchants. To facilitate trade, the bank created the ""nostro"" (from Italian, this translates to ""ours"") account book which contained two columned entries showing amounts of foreign and local currencies; information pertaining"
"from tourism, shipping, and a fast-growing service sector raised the country's standard of living to unprecedented levels. Traditionally strained relations with neighbouring Turkey improved when successive earthquakes hit both nations in 1999, leading to the lifting of the Greek veto against Turkey's bid for EU membership. The country adopted the euro in 2001 and successfully hosted the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. More recently, Greece has suffered greatly from the late-2000s recession and has been central to the related European sovereign debt crisis. Due to the adoption of the euro, when Greece experienced financial crisis, it could no longer"
"or the Levant, and also smaller coins, thought to for the payments of daily life, were minted. In addition to the usual means of payment, coins showing gods such as Zeus, Athene or Artemis were found. In northern Greece, coins were introduced as an exchange medium quite early. Due to precious metal mines on the Chalkidiki peninsula and the Pangaion Mountains, enough raw materials were available for the coinage. In the first half of the 5th century BC, Alexander I established the coinage in the Macedonian kingdom. The main reason for this step was to pay taxes to the Persians."
"Greek euro coins 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"
"west, Crete to the south and Sardis to the East. At the beginning of the Archaic period, coinage had not yet been invented. The Greeks measured the value of objects or fines using certain valuable objects, such as oxen, tripods, and metal spits, as units of account. As in the Near East, precious metal bullion was used as a medium of exchange, principally gold at first, but mainly silver by the beginning of the sixth century. The weight of this bullion (often known as hacksilber) was measured using standard units, named for their value in terms of metal spits (""obeloi"")"
"and handfuls (""drachmai"") of metal spits; these terms would later be used as names for Greek coin denominations. Coinage was invented in Lydia around 650 BC. It was quickly adopted by Greek communities in western Asia Minor, although the older system of bullion remained in use as well. The island of Aegina began to issue its distinctive ""turtle"" coins before 550 BC, and from there coinage spread to Athens, Corinth and the Cycladic Islands in the 540s BC, Southern Italy and Sicily before 525 BC, and Thrace before 514 BC. Most of these coinages were very small and were mostly"
"drachmae = 1 United States dollar. In 1973, the Bretton Woods System was abolished; over the next 25 years the official exchange rate gradually declined, reaching 400 drachmae to 1 U. S. dollar. On 1 January 2002, the Greek drachma was officially replaced as the circulating currency by the euro, and it has not been legal tender since 1 March 2002. The first issue of coins minted in 1954 consisted of holed aluminium 5-, 10- and 20-lepton pieces, with 50-lepton, 1-, 2-, 5- and 10-drachma pieces in cupro-nickel. A silver 20-drachma piece was issued in 1960, replacing the 20-drachma banknote,"
"and incentives given for the cultivation of wheat. In the early years of the Republic, the government of Alexandros Zaimis took a loan from British banks that totalled £9 million intended for land reclamation and improvement (primarily in the northern regions). The conditions for this loan, however, stipulated that Greece had to stabilise its currency (the Greek drachma) by adopting the gold standard and by establishing a central bank to oversee economic policy. In May 1928 the Bank of Greece was established, revoking the National Bank of Greece's rights to print currency much to the dissatisfaction of the NBG. A"
"was minted in quantity. This was originally a ""silver"" coin with low silver content, but developed through stages of debasement (sometimes silver washed) to pure bronze coins. Although many regions ruled by Hellenistic monarchs were brought under Roman control, this did not immediately lead to a unitary monetary system throughout the Mediterranean region. Local coinage traditions in the eastern regions prevailed, while the denarius dominated the western regions. The local Greek coinages are known as ""Greek Imperial coins"". Apart from the Greeks and the Romans, also other peoples in the Mediterranean region issued coins. These include the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians,"
"Ancient Greek coinage The history of ancient Greek coinage can be divided (along with most other Greek art forms) into four periods, the Archaic, the Classical, the Hellenistic and the Roman. The Archaic period extends from the introduction of coinage to the Greek world during the 7th century BC until the Persian Wars in about 480 BC. The Classical period then began, and lasted until the conquests of Alexander the Great in about 330 BC, which began the Hellenistic period, extending until the Roman absorption of the Greek world in the 1st century BC. The Greek cities continued to produce"
"centre-left party PASOK won the election and changed the Greek political scenery. The decade of the 1990s saw the standard of living among Greeks steadily increase, a trend which reached its zenith around the time of the Olympic Games of 2004. On 1 January 2001, Greece voted to adopt the Euro, and the currency was introduced in the country one year later on 1 January 2002. In the last months of 2009, the Greek debt crisis broke out, an event that brought about great changes on both a social and political level. This period began with the centrists and centre-right"
"their own coins for several more centuries under Roman rule. The coins produced during this period are called Roman provincial coins or Greek Imperial Coins. The three most important standards of the ancient Greek monetary system were the Attic standard, based on the Athenian drachma of 4.3 grams of silver and the Corinthian standard based on the stater of 8.6 grams of silver, that was subdivided into three silver drachmas of 2.9 grams, and the Aeginetan stater or didrachm of 12.2 grams, based on a drachma of 6.1 grams. The word ""drachm(a)"" means ""a handful"", literally ""a grasp"". Drachmae were"