The ''phoenix'' ( el, φοίνιξ, ''foinix'') was the first

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

of the modern

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

state. It was introduced in 1828 by Governor Count

Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (10 or 11 February 1776 – 9 October 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias ( el, Κόμης Ιωάννης Αντώνιος Καποδίστριας, Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; russian: � ...

and was subdivided into 100 '' lepta''. The name was that of the

mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

phoenix bird and was meant to symbolize the rebirth of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

during the still ongoing

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

. The ''phoenix'' replaced the Ottoman ''

kuruş Kuruş ( ; ), also gurush, ersh, gersh, grush, grosha, and grosi, are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. The variation in the name stems from the different languages it is us ...

'' (called ''grosi'' γρόσι, plural γρόσια ''grosia'' by the Greeks) at a rate of 6 phoenixes = 1 ''kuruş''.

Introduction

The creation of a national currency was one of the most pressing issues for the newborn Greek state, so that the monetary chaos reigning in the country could subside. Prior to the Phoenix's introduction, transactions were settled with a wide variety of coins, including the ''

''; coins from major European states, such as France, Britain, Russia and Austria, were also popular. Therefore, minting the ''phoenix'' was one of Governor Kapodistrias' greatest priorities, and he signed a decree authorising it on 12 April 1828. The Russian Imperial government lent Kapodistrias' administration 1.5 million roubles to start the project.

Minting the Phoenix

Kapodistrias made Alexandros Kontostavlos responsible for minting the ''Phoenix''. Kontostavlos travelled to Malta, where he negotiated the purchase of several coin presses, originally owned by the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

. The machines were brought to

Aegina Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island an ...

. The dies for the ''Phoenix'' were carved by Chatzigrigoris Pyrobolistis, an Armenian jeweller, and the first sample coins were produced on 27 June 1829, in the agreed denominations of 1 ''phoenix'', 20 ''lepta'', 10 ''lepta'', 5 ''lepta'' and 1 ''lepton''. The use of the phoenix as a symbol of rebirth is also found on the flag of Alexander Ypsilanti's Sacred Band. On 30 June 1829 the National Mint was founded, and production of coins continued. 1 October 1829 was set as the official launch date for the new currency. All phoenixes were minted at the National Mint of Aegina, which continued to operate until 1833. Coincidentally, Aegina is where the first ancient and modern Greek coins were minted – the staters of Aegina were minted in around 700 BC and were the first to circulate in the Ancient Greek world.

Demise

Only a small number of coins were minted, estimated to just under twelve thousandL. Krause, A. Karamitsos. and most transactions in Greece continued to be carried out in foreign currency at a rate fixed by the newly established Committee of Economy. Lacking precious metals to mint more coins, the government in 1831 issued an additional 300,000 phoenixes as paper currency with no underlying assets to back them. As a result, the paper notes were universally rejected by the public. In 1832, with the arrival of King Otto as

King of Greece The Kingdom of Greece was ruled by the House of Wittelsbach between 1832 and 1862 and by the House of Glücksburg from 1863 to 1924, temporarily abolished during the Second Hellenic Republic, and from 1935 to 1973, when it was once more abolishe ...

, the currency system was reformed and the ''

Drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fr ...

'' was introduced to replace the ''Phoenix'' at par - 1 Drachma = 1 Phoenix.

References

* *

External links

National Mint of Aegina (in Greek)
{{Ioannis Kapodistrias Phoenix Modern obsolete currencies Economic history of Greece 1828 establishments in Greece 1832 disestablishments in Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias