Catalog
1 Drachma - Constantine I Essai
| Issuer | Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse lettering | ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΤΩΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΩΝ K.A 1915 ESSAI (Translation: CONSTANTINOS KING OF THE GREEKS K.A 1915 ESSAI) |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Greece's finances were severely strained by the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, and by 1915 the country had largely suspended silver coinage for circulation. This piece was struck as an essai — a pattern trial — almost certainly in anticipation of a resumed coinage that never materialized, as Greece was about to fracture politically in the National Schism between King Constantine I and Prime Minister Venizelos over entry into the First World War.
KM#E33 is among the rarer Greek essai pieces of the period, a casualty of a mint program interrupted before it began.