The 1973 twenty drachmai was issued by the military junta that had seized power in April 1967, and it appeared during the regime's final, turbulent year. By mid-1973 the colonels were attempting to legitimize their rule through a staged referendum abolishing the monarchy — a monarchy they had already effectively suspended. This coin circulated under that hollow constitutional theater.
The junta collapsed in July 1974 following the Cyprus disaster, when a Greek-backed coup against Makarios triggered the Turkish invasion of the island's north.
The 1973 twenty drachmai was issued by the military junta that had seized power in April 1967, and it appeared during the regime's final, turbulent year. By mid-1973 the colonels were attempting to legitimize their rule through a staged referendum abolishing the monarchy — a monarchy they had already effectively suspended. This coin circulated under that hollow constitutional theater.
The junta collapsed in July 1974 following the Cyprus disaster, when a Greek-backed coup against Makarios triggered the Turkish invasion of the island's north.