Greece · 50th anniversary of the restoration of democracy in Greece

Issue date17 Jun 2024

Total mintage750,000

EU maximum750,000

Editions5

Edge letteringΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ + ★

Inscription50 ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΑΠΟ ΤΗ ΜΕΤΑΠΟΛΙΤΕΥΣΗ / ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ

DesignerGeorgios Stamatopoulos

mintBank of Greece - Mint, Halandri

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 50th anniversary of the restoration of democracy in Greece. The design depicts the Greek Parliament building, surrounded by the inscriptions “50 ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΑΠΟ ΤΗ ΜΕΤΑΠΟΛΙΤΕΥΣΗ” and “ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ”; below it is a palmette, the mintmark of the Greek Mint. The fall of the Regime of the Colonels on 24 July 1974 marked Greece’s return to democracy after seven years of dictatorship.

The design

The coin design depicts the Greek Parliament building, encircled by the inscription “50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY IN GREECE” and “HELLENIC REPUBLIC”. Below it is a palmette (mint mark of the Greek mint). The fall of the Colonels’ regime on 24 July 1974 marked the return to democracy in Greece after a seven-year dictatorship.

The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.

Background on the topic

The Greek term “Metapolitefsi” refers not only to the immediate change of government, but to the transition from military rule to the parliamentary system in place today. The dictatorship had begun in 1967 with a coup d’état. Political parties were banned, opponents of the regime were arrested, interned, tortured or forced into exile; censorship and restrictions on freedom of assembly were also imposed. In 1973, the student uprising at the Athens Polytechnic was violently suppressed.

The trigger for the collapse of the regime was the Cyprus crisis. In July 1974, the Greek military leadership supported a coup against the Cypriot president Makarios III, which aimed to annex the island to Greece. This was followed by a Turkish military intervention. In view of the foreign-policy and military crisis, the junta handed over governmental power to civilian politicians.

Konstantinos Karamanlis returned from his exile in Paris and formed a government of national unity. In the following months, political freedoms were restored and parties were once again permitted, including the Communist Party, which had been banned since the civil war. In free parliamentary elections in November 1974, the Nea Dimokratia founded by Karamanlis won. A referendum in December confirmed the abolition of the monarchy. The Constitution of 1975 established Greece as a parliamentary republic. Leading members of the junta were later brought to trial and convicted.

The parliament building depicted on Syntagma Square in Athens was originally the royal palace. It was built in the 19th century according to plans by the architect Friedrich von Gärtner and has served as the seat of Parliament since 1935. In front of the building is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

As a coin motif, the building refers to the institution in which political representation, legislation and parliamentary oversight are anchored. It thus represents the state system established after the dictatorship. The anniversary provided an opportunity to commemorate not only the end of the regime, but also the subsequent political reorganization of Greece.