10 Drachmai - Paul I

Greece issued this denomination under Paul I during a period of post-civil-war reconstruction, when the drachma itself had been redenominated in 1954 at a rate of 1,000 old drachmai to one new — meaning this 10-drachmai piece notionally represented ten thousand units of the currency that had collapsed under Axis occupation and wartime hyperinflation. The alloy choice was deliberate: nickel-heavy compositions were favored across postwar European states for their durability and resistance to the kind of hoarding that plagued precious-metal issues.

Paul I reigned from 1947 until his death in March 1964, meaning the final year of this type's production — 1965 — was struck under his son Constantine II.