{"product_id":"greece-p198-1000-drachmas-1970-fvf","title":"Greece P198 1000 Drachmas 1970 FVF—Zeus—Amphitheater—Woman—Hydra Port","description":"\u003cp\u003eGreece's highest denomination of the 1964–1970 series brings together three of the ancient world's most iconic images: the \u003cstrong\u003eArtemision Bronze\u003c\/strong\u003e — possibly the greatest surviving Greek sculpture — the \u003cstrong\u003eTheatre of Epidaurus\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the timeless port of \u003cstrong\u003eHydra Island\u003c\/strong\u003e. Issued under the Regime of the Colonels and notable for having \u003cstrong\u003etwo different watermarks\u003c\/strong\u003e depending on which paper stock was used.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFront\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Brown on multicolor\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eZeus (Artemision Bronze):\u003c\/strong\u003e Statue of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Artemision_Bronze\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eZeus\u003c\/a\u003e (the Artemision Bronze, National Archaeological Museum, Athens) at left\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEpidaurus:\u003c\/strong\u003e Amphitheatre of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Epidaurus\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eEpidaurus\u003c\/a\u003e at lower center\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWatermark window:\u003c\/strong\u003e Blank area at right\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSignatures:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dimitrios_Galanis\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDimitrios Galanis\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\n\u003ch3\u003eBack\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Brown on multicolor\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHydra:\u003c\/strong\u003e View of the port of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hydra,_Greece\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eHydra Island\u003c\/a\u003e at center-right\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWoman in local costume:\u003c\/strong\u003e At left\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEngraver:\u003c\/strong\u003e Georgios Angelopoulos\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDesigner:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yannis Stinis\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eOther Characteristics\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties:\u003c\/strong\u003e You may receive any variety:\n    \u003cul\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003eP-198a — Watermark: head of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aphrodite\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAphrodite\u003c\/a\u003e (hair in a knot at top); prefix 01 only, serial numbers up to 860,000; ~12.9 million printed\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003eP-198b — Watermark: head of the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antikythera_Ephebe\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAntikythera Ephebe\u003c\/a\u003e (no hair knot); prefix 01 serial numbers above 860,000, and all prefixes 02+; ~1.07 billion printed\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eP-198as — Specimen (overprint SPECIMEN, serial 05Χ 000000) — not this listing\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003c\/ul\u003e\n  \u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCatalog numbers:\u003c\/strong\u003e P-198a \/ P-198b; Numista N#206926\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWatermark:\u003c\/strong\u003e Head of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aphrodite\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAphrodite\u003c\/a\u003e (P-198a) or head of the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antikythera_Ephebe\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAntikythera Ephebe\u003c\/a\u003e (P-198b) — a bronze statue of a youth recovered from an ancient shipwreck. To tell them apart: Aphrodite has her hair in a knot at the top of her head; the Ephebe does not.\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 158 × 80 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\/Dimitrios_Galanis\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDimitrios Galanis\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\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Artemision Bronze: The Greatest Statue That Almost Wasn’t\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe figure on the obverse is the \u003cstrong\u003eArtemision Bronze\u003c\/strong\u003e, a larger-than-life-size cast bronze statue recovered from the sea off Cape Artemision in \u003cstrong\u003e1926\u003c\/strong\u003e and now one of the crown jewels of the \u003cstrong\u003eNational Archaeological Museum of Athens\u003c\/strong\u003e. Dating to around \u003cstrong\u003e460 BC\u003c\/strong\u003e, it depicts a god — almost certainly \u003cstrong\u003eZeus\u003c\/strong\u003e — in the act of hurling a thunderbolt, his arms outstretched in perfect balance, his body a masterclass in Classical Greek idealism. The statue lay on the seabed for over 2,000 years after the ship carrying it sank. It is one of the very few original Greek bronzes to survive antiquity; almost all others were melted down during the Roman and Byzantine periods. That it ended up on the 1,000-drachma note — the highest denomination in circulation — was entirely fitting: this is Greece's most powerful image of divine authority.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eEpidaurus: The Theatre That Still Works\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eTheatre of Epidaurus\u003c\/strong\u003e, shown at the lower center of the obverse, was built around \u003cstrong\u003e340 BC\u003c\/strong\u003e by the architect Polykleitos the Younger and is the best-preserved ancient theatre in the world. It seats \u003cstrong\u003e14,000 people\u003c\/strong\u003e and is still used for performances today — its acoustics so perfect that a coin dropped at center stage can be heard from the back row. It was part of the sanctuary of \u003cstrong\u003eAsclepius\u003c\/strong\u003e, the god of medicine, where the sick came to be healed. The combination of theatre and healing was intentional: the Greeks believed that drama — tragedy and comedy — was itself a form of medicine for the soul. Epidaurus was designated a \u003cstrong\u003eUNESCO World Heritage Site\u003c\/strong\u003e in 1988.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eHydra: The Island That Banned Cars\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reverse shows the port of \u003cstrong\u003eHydra\u003c\/strong\u003e, one of the most distinctive islands in Greece. Hydra has \u003cstrong\u003eno cars, no motorcycles, and no motorized vehicles of any kind\u003c\/strong\u003e — transport is by donkey, boat, or foot, as it has been for centuries. The island's stone harbor town, built by wealthy 18th-century sea captains, looks almost exactly as it did 200 years ago. In the \u003cstrong\u003e1950s and 1960s\u003c\/strong\u003e, Hydra became a magnet for artists and intellectuals — \u003cstrong\u003eLeonard Cohen\u003c\/strong\u003e lived there for years and wrote some of his most famous songs on the island. The woman in local costume at left represents the living folk tradition that Hydra has preserved more completely than almost anywhere else in Greece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\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\n\u003ch3\u003eGreece Unfiltered\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTwo watermarks:\u003c\/strong\u003e This note exists with two different watermarks because the Bank of Greece used up leftover paper stock from the \u003cstrong\u003e1956\u003c\/strong\u003e 1,000-drachma note (P-194) before switching to new stock — making the Aphrodite watermark variety (P-198a) significantly rarer at only ~12.9 million printed vs. over a billion for P-198b\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJunta note:\u003c\/strong\u003e Issued in \u003cstrong\u003e1971\u003c\/strong\u003e under the Regime of the Colonels; the junta chose Zeus — king of the gods — for its highest denomination\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLeonard Cohen on Hydra:\u003c\/strong\u003e The island on the reverse was home to \u003cstrong\u003eLeonard Cohen\u003c\/strong\u003e in the early 1960s, where he wrote \u003cem\u003eBeautiful Losers\u003c\/em\u003e and began his musical career\u003c\/li\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\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\u003eOldest city in Europe:\u003c\/strong\u003e Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least \u003cstrong\u003e7,000 years\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOwn this note and hold Zeus in your hands — the god of thunder cast in bronze, the world's most perfect theatre, and an island that chose donkeys over cars. The 1,000-drachma note is the crown of the 1964–1970 Greek series, and one of the most compelling banknotes ever issued.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World Money Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52634112262455,"sku":"GR198FVF","price":2.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/7165\/3431\/files\/198-FVF-OR.png?v=1783479083","url":"https:\/\/worldmoneystore.com\/products\/greece-p198-1000-drachmas-1970-fvf","provider":"World Money Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}