10 Lepta

The 10 Lepta of 1828–1830 belongs to the first coinage of the modern Greek state, authorized by Ioannis Kapodistrias, the country's first governor, who established the mint at Aegina — the provisional capital — in 1828. Greece had no functioning monetary system of its own after nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule, and this copper issue was part of an urgent, politically charged effort to assert independent statehood through currency before the borders were even settled.

Kapodistrias was assassinated in October 1831, and the Aegina mint effectively ceased operations shortly after this series was struck. The entire Phoenix coinage was superseded within a few years by the drachma system under King Otto.