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20 Drachmai National Revolution, Regime of the Colonels
| Issuer | Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1970 |
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| Value | 20 Drachmai (20 GRD) |
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| Obverse description | Central device depicts a uniformed soldier standing at attention, bearing a rifle on his shoulder, superimposed upon the outstretched wings of a rising phoenix emerging from stylized flames. The phoenix's head, with beak open, rises above the soldier's helmet, filling the upper field. The engraver's signature E. KELLAIDHS (E. ΚΕΛΛΑΙΔΗΣ) appears in the lower right field. In the exergue, a raised panel bears the Greek inscription '21 ΑΠΡΙΛΙΟΥ' on the upper line and '1967' below, commemorating the date of the military coup of 21 April 1967. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Issued by the military junta that seized power in April 1967, this coin was part of a broader propaganda campaign to legitimize the regime through commemorative coinage. The "National Revolution" nomenclature was the junta's own framing of the coup — a deliberate rhetorical choice to cast a military takeover as a popular uprising. Gold issues of this type circulated almost exclusively as collector and export pieces; the regime was acutely aware of international legitimacy problems and used prestige coinage partly to project stability to foreign audiences.
The junta fell in 1974 following the Cyprus debacle, and most of its commemorative program was quietly discontinued.