20 Para Countermarked in Arabic on Turkey KM-668.2

During the Greek administration of formerly Ottoman territories following the Balkan Wars and World War I, locally circulating Turkish copper coinage was countermarked to legitimize its continued use under Greek authority. The KM-668.2 host — an Abdul Hamid II-era 20 Para — was among the most common large coppers still in circulation across Thrace and the Aegean littoral, making it the practical target for such overstrikes.

The Arabic-script countermark, rather than Greek, reflects the multilingual realities of these transitional zones and the speed at which monetary administration had to operate.