{"product_id":"greece-p195-50-drachmas-1964-fvf-nymph-arethusa-ancient-galley-ship-like-iliad","title":"Greece P195 50 Drachmas 1964 FVF–Nymph Arethusa—Iliad-style Ancient Galley Ship","description":"\u003cp\u003eA beautifully engraved mid-century Greek banknote celebrating the mythological nymph Arethusa and Greece's proud maritime heritage — issued during the brief reign of King Constantine II and demonetized after nearly four decades of circulation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFront\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Blue on multicolor\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eArethusa:\u003c\/strong\u003e Head of the nymph \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Arethusa_(mythology)\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eArethusa\u003c\/a\u003e at left\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGalley:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ancient Greek \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Galley\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003egalley\u003c\/a\u003e at bottom right\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSignatures:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Xenophon_Zolotas\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eXenophon Zolotas\u003c\/a\u003e (Gov., Bank of Greece); Manager signature unknown\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEngraver:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lambros Orfanos\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDesigner:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yannis Stinis\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eBack\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Blue on multicolor\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShipyard composition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Artistic composition of an old and a modern shipyard side by side\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEngraver:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lambros Orfanos\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDesigner:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yannis Stinis\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eOther Characteristics\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCatalog numbers:\u003c\/strong\u003e P-195a; Numista N#208042\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWatermark:\u003c\/strong\u003e Head of the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antikythera_Ephebe\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAntikythera Ephebe\u003c\/a\u003e — a bronze statue of a youth recovered from an ancient shipwreck\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eComposition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paper\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 142 × 64 mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIssuing entity:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bank_of_Greece\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBank of Greece\u003c\/a\u003e (Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePrinter:\u003c\/strong\u003e Banknote and Currency Printing Office (Ίδρυμα Εκτυπώσεως Τραπεζογραμματίων και Αξιών), Greece (1947–date)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Demonetization_(currency)\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDemonetized\u003c\/a\u003e:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSignatures:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Xenophon_Zolotas\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eXenophon Zolotas\u003c\/a\u003e (Gov.); Manager unknown\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurrency:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Greek_drachma\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThird modern drachma\u003c\/a\u003e (1954–2001)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eArethusa: The Nymph Who Became a Spring\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe figure on this note is no ordinary portrait — she is \u003cstrong\u003eArethusa\u003c\/strong\u003e, a naiad nymph from Greek mythology whose story is one of the most dramatic in the ancient canon. Pursued by the river god \u003cstrong\u003eAlpheus\u003c\/strong\u003e across land and sea, Arethusa called upon the goddess \u003cstrong\u003eArtemis\u003c\/strong\u003e for help. Artemis transformed her into an underground stream that flowed beneath the sea from the Peloponnese all the way to \u003cstrong\u003eSicily\u003c\/strong\u003e, where she emerged as the famous freshwater spring on the island of \u003cstrong\u003eOrtygia\u003c\/strong\u003e in Syracuse. The spring still flows today. Ancient Greeks believed that objects thrown into the \u003cstrong\u003eAlpheus River\u003c\/strong\u003e in the Peloponnese would resurface at Arethusa's spring in Sicily — a myth so vivid that even \u003cstrong\u003eCicero\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003ePindar\u003c\/strong\u003e wrote of it. Her image on this note connects everyday commerce to one of antiquity's most enduring love-and-transformation stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eOld Ships and New Ships: Greece's Maritime Soul\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reverse composition — an old and a modern shipyard side by side — is no accident. Greece has been a seafaring civilization for \u003cstrong\u003e3,000+ years\u003c\/strong\u003e, from the triremes of the \u003cstrong\u003eBattle of Salamis\u003c\/strong\u003e (480 BC) to the massive merchant fleet that, by the 1960s, was among the largest in the world. By the time this note was issued in \u003cstrong\u003e1965\u003c\/strong\u003e, Greek shipowners like \u003cstrong\u003eAristotle Onassis\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eStavros Niarchos\u003c\/strong\u003e were global titans. The juxtaposition of ancient galley and modern shipyard on a 50-drachma note was a deliberate statement: Greece's identity is inseparable from the sea, across every era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout Greece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin of name:\u003c\/strong\u003e \"Greece\" derives from Latin \u003cem\u003eGraecia\u003c\/em\u003e, the Roman name for the region; Greeks call their country \u003cstrong\u003eHellas\u003c\/strong\u003e (Ελλάς), from \u003cem\u003eHellen\u003c\/em\u003e, the mythological ancestor of the Greek people\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCapital:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Athens\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAthens\u003c\/a\u003e — city pop. ~664,000; metro pop. ~3.6 million\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin of name:\u003c\/strong\u003e Named after the goddess \u003cstrong\u003eAthena\u003c\/strong\u003e, patron deity of the city; the origin of Athena's own name remains debated — possibly pre-Greek\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePopulation:\u003c\/strong\u003e ~10.4 million (UN 2023) — similar to Michigan or Portugal\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eArea:\u003c\/strong\u003e 131,957 km² (50,949 mi²) — similar to Alabama or England\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGDP per capita (\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Purchasing_power_parity\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePPP\u003c\/a\u003e):\u003c\/strong\u003e ~$40,000 (IMF 2024)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMain exports:\u003c\/strong\u003e Petroleum products, aluminum, pharmaceuticals, olive oil, cotton, tobacco, fruits\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBorders:\u003c\/strong\u003e Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria (north); Turkey (northeast); surrounded by Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean seas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOfficial\/spoken languages:\u003c\/strong\u003e Greek (official); minority languages include Turkish, Macedonian, Albanian\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEthnicities:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Greeks\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGreeks\u003c\/a\u003e (~91%); \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Albanians_in_Greece\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAlbanians\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bulgarians_in_Greece\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBulgarians\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Romani_people_in_Greece\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eRoma\u003c\/a\u003e, and others\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMemberships:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_Nations\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eUnited Nations\u003c\/a\u003e (founding member, 1945); \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NATO\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eNATO\u003c\/a\u003e (1952); \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/European_Union\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eEuropean Union\u003c\/a\u003e (1981, first enlargement); \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Eurozone\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eEurozone\u003c\/a\u003e (2001, replacing the drachma)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSovereignty:\u003c\/strong\u003e Independence from the Ottoman Empire declared \u003cstrong\u003e1821\u003c\/strong\u003e; recognized 1830; modern republic established 1974 after the fall of the military junta\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGreece Unfiltered\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDebt crisis:\u003c\/strong\u003e Greece triggered the worst sovereign debt crisis in EU history (2010–2018), receiving three international bailouts totaling over €289 billion — the largest in history at the time\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAncient democracy:\u003c\/strong\u003e Athens invented democracy around \u003cstrong\u003e508 BC\u003c\/strong\u003e — and then lost it repeatedly to oligarchs, tyrants, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans for the next 2,400 years\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShipping dominance:\u003c\/strong\u003e Greek shipowners control roughly \u003cstrong\u003e20% of global shipping tonnage\u003c\/strong\u003e — more than any other nation — despite Greece having only 0.13% of the world's population\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMilitary junta:\u003c\/strong\u003e From \u003cstrong\u003e1967 to 1974\u003c\/strong\u003e, Greece was ruled by a military dictatorship (the \"Regime of the Colonels\") — this note was issued just before the junta took power\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAntikythera mechanism:\u003c\/strong\u003e The watermark on this note references the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antikythera_Ephebe\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAntikythera Ephebe\u003c\/a\u003e, a bronze statue of a youth recovered from the same shipwreck that yielded the \u003cstrong\u003eAntikythera mechanism\u003c\/strong\u003e — a 2,000-year-old analog computer that calculated astronomical positions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOldest city in Europe:\u003c\/strong\u003e Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least \u003cstrong\u003e7,000 years\u003c\/strong\u003e, making it one of the oldest cities in the world\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCat island nation:\u003c\/strong\u003e Greece has one of the highest cat-per-capita ratios in Europe; cats are a protected cultural fixture, especially on the islands\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOwn this note and hold a piece of ancient myth in your hands — Arethusa's face, a shipyard's ambition, and the watermark of a bronze god pulled from the deep. A 50-drachma note that punches far above its face value.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World Money Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52634085163319,"sku":"GR195aFVF","price":1.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/7165\/3431\/files\/195-FVF-OR.png?v=1783477764","url":"https:\/\/worldmoneystore.com\/products\/greece-p195-50-drachmas-1964-fvf-nymph-arethusa-ancient-galley-ship-like-iliad","provider":"World Money Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}