20 ECU Alexander the Great

Greece issued this ECU piece as part of a broader European enthusiasm for the denomination in the early 1990s, when non-eurozone and aspirant member states alike produced ECU-denominated coins primarily for the collector market — they held no legal tender status for everyday transactions. The timing was deliberate: Greece was making its case for deeper EU integration, and invoking Alexander was a pointed response to the ongoing dispute with the newly independent Republic of Macedonia over the use of the name and associated historical symbols.

That dispute had boiled over in 1992–1993, prompting Greek trade embargoes and sustained diplomatic pressure across European institutions.