What was the currency of Greece before it adopted the Euro?
"Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). The country joined what is now the European Union in 1981. In 2001 Greece adopted the euro as its currency, replacing the Greek drachma at an exchange rate of 340.75 drachmae per euro. Greece is a member of the International Monetary Fund and of the World Trade Organization, and ranked 34th on Ernst & Young's Globalization Index 2011. World War II (1939-1945) devastated the country's economy, but the high levels of economic growth that followed from 1950 to 1980 have been called the Greek economic miracle. From 2000 Greece saw high levels of GDP growth above"
"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,"
"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,"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"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"
"Cypriot pound The pound, also known as the lira ( / plural ""λίρες"" and Turkish: ""lira"", from the Latin ""libra"" through the Italian ""lira""), was the currency of Cyprus, including the Sovereign Base Areas in Akrotiri and Dhekelia, until 31 December 2007, when the Republic of Cyprus adopted the euro. However, the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus used and still uses on the official level the Turkish lira. The Cypriot pound was replaced by the euro as official currency of the Republic of Cyprus on 1 January 2008 at the irrevocable fixed exchange rate of CYP 0.585274 per EUR"
"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"
"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"
"euro currency union as the third stage of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Further, certain states outside the EU have adopted the euro as their currency, despite not belonging to the EMU. Thus, a total of 25 states, including 19 European Union states and six non-EU members, currently use the euro. The Eurozone came into existence with the official launch of the euro on 1 January 1999. Physical coins and banknotes were introduced on 1 January 2002. The original members were Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Greece adopted the euro"
"cent is known as the ""lepto"" (λεπτό; plural ""lepta"", λεπτά) in Greek. Greece did not enter the Eurozone until 2001 and was not able to start minting coins as early as the other eleven member states, so a number of coins circulated in 2002 were not minted in Athens but in Finland (€1 and €2 – mint mark ""S""), France (1c, 2c, 5c, 10c and 50c – mint mark ""F"") and Spain (20c – mint mark ""E""). The coins minted in Athens for the euro introduction in 2002, as well as all the subsequent Greek euro coins, carry only the"
"well as funds from the European Union and growing revenues from tourism, shipping and a fast-growing service sector raised the country's standard of living to unprecedented levels. The country adopted the Euro in 2001 and over the next 7 years the country's GDP per capita more than doubled, from $13,070 in 2001 to $28,660 in 2008. The Greek government, encouraged by the European Commission, European Central Bank, private banking institutions, and the Greek business community also took out loans to pay Greek and foreign infrastructure companies for a wide variety of infrastructure projects such as those related to the 2004"
"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"
"bank, the Bank of Greece) warned that ""[a]n exit from the euro would lead to a significant decline in the living standards of Greek citizens."" According to the announcement, per capita income would fall by 55%, the new national currency would depreciate by 65% vis-à-vis the euro, and the recession would deepen to 22%. Furthermore, unemployment would rise from its current 22% to 34% of the work force, and inflation, which was then at 2%, would soar to 30%. According to the Greek think-tank Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), a new drachma would lose half or more of"
"Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Greece) Euro gold and silver commemorative coins are special euro coins minted and issued by member states of the Eurozone, mainly in gold and silver, although other precious metals are also used in rare occasions. Greece was one of the first twelve countries in the Eurozone that introduced the euro (€) on 1 January 2002. Since 2003, the Mint of Greece have been minting both normal issues of Greek euro coins, which are intended for circulation, and commemorative euro coins in gold and silver. These special coins have a legal tender only in Greece,"
"Greece, joined late. On the other hand, Finland and Austria joined the eurozone from the beginning although their currencies were not part of the ECU basket (since they had joined the EU in 1995, two years after the ECU composition was ""frozen"") Due to the ECU being used in some international financial transactions, there was a concern that foreign courts might not recognize the euro as the legal successor to the ECU. This was unlikely to be a problem, since it is a generally accepted principle of private international law that states determine their currencies, and that therefore states would"
"close to the EU average. Greece failed to meet the criteria and was excluded from participating on 1 January 1999. On 1 June 1998 the European Central Bank succeeded the European Monetary Institute. However it wouldn't take on its full powers until the euro was created on 1 January 1999. The bank's first President was Wim Duisenberg, former head of the EMI and the Dutch central bank. The conversion rates between the 11 participating national currencies and the euro were then established. The rates were determined by the Council of the European Union, based on a recommendation from the European"
"a referendum voted 69%–31% to confirm the deposition of King Constantine II. A democratic republican constitution came into force. Another previously exiled politician, Andreas Papandreou also returned and founded the socialist PASOK Party (Panhellenic Socialist Movement), which won the 1981 election and dominated Greek politics for almost two decades. After the restoration of democracy, Greece's stability and economic prosperity improved significantly. Greece rejoined NATO in 1980, joined the European Union (EU) in 1981 and adopted the euro as its currency in 2001. New infrastructure funds from the EU and growing revenues from tourism, shipping, services, light industry and the telecommunications"
"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"
"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,"
"Banknote Museum The Banknote Museum of Alpha Bank is a museum located in Corfu, Greece. It showcases an almost complete collection of the Greek currency from 1822 to present, about 2000 items. It includes the first treasury bonds issued by the newly liberated Greek State in 1822 until the replacement of the drachma by the euro in 2002. It also includes sketches essays and printing plates of Greek banknotes. One of its rarest holdings is the 1860 ""colonata"". The museum was established in 1981 by the Ionian Bank and it is housed at the former Ionian Bank building designed by"
"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"
"he was appointed Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He joined the Bank of Greece in 1985 as its Chief Economist, rising to the rank of Deputy Governor in 1993, and finally Governor in 1994. During his time as Governor of the central bank, Papademos was involved in Greece's transition from the drachma to the euro as its national currency. After leaving the Bank of Greece in 2002, Papademos became the Vice President to Wim Duisenberg, and then Jean-Claude Trichet, at the European Central Bank from 2002 to 2010. In 2010 he served as an economic advisor"
"the Central Bank had opened for an hour at midnight to allow citizens to exchange currency, while a huge euro pyramid had decorated Syntagma Square in Athens. Other countries noted the coming of the euro as well—Paris's Pont Neuf was decorated in EU colours, while in the northern German town of Gifhorn a sombre, symbolic funeral for the Deutsche Mark took place. Except for Germany, the plan for introduction of the new currency was basically the same. Banks would accept the exchange of legacy currencies, begin to dispense euros from ATMs, and only euros would be available as withdrawals were"