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A 2 euro commemorative coin of the Hellenic Republic, issued in 2013 in a circulation of 750,000 copies. Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the unification of Crete with Greece. The author of the design is Georgios Stamatopoulos. Bimetallic, diameter 25.75 mm, weight 8.5 g. Minted at the Hellenic Mint in Chalandri.
Obverse
The inner part of the coin depicts Cretan rebels raising the Greek flag - a symbolic image of Crete's struggle for unification with Greece. In the upper part, in a circle, in letters, the name of the issuing country "ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ" (Hellenic Republic). In the lower part - the inscription "ΕΝΩΣΗ ΤΗΣ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ ΜΕ ΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ" (Unification of Crete with Greece) and the years "1913-2013". Mintmark - palmette. Initials of the author "ΣΤΑΜ". On the outer ring - 12 stars of the European Union.
Reverse
The reverse is the common side of the 2 euro coins of the second type, designed by Luc Luix. It depicts a map of Europe as a single continent without internal borders. On the left - a large denomination "2" and the inscription "EURO", on the right - a map. On the outer ring - 12 stars of the EU.
Historical context
The unification of Crete with Greece took place on December 1, 1913 - on that day the Greek flag was raised on the Firka fortress in the harbor of Chania in the presence of King Constantine of the Hellenes and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, a Cretan by origin. This was preceded by a period of over 267 years of Turkish occupation (1669–1913) – the "Years of Agony", as the memorial plaque in Firka states. Crete experienced numerous uprisings, each of which was brutally suppressed: 1770, 1821–1830 (as part of the Greek Revolution), 1841, 1858, 1866–1869, 1878, 1897–1898. After the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 and the Treaty of London of 1913, Sultan Mehmed V officially renounced Crete in favor of Greece, in accordance with the Treaty of Bucharest. This was the first expansion of the borders of the modern Greek state. Eleftherios Venizelos, a Cretan politician, later became one of the most prominent Greek prime ministers of the 20th century.