2017-07-18 Tue

750,000 circulating commemorative €2 coins will be released by Greece in the second half of 2017 to celebrate the ancient settlement of Philippi. The obverse features the archaeological site with a part of Basilica B and designs like a border pattern from an ancient Greek mosaic discovered at the site. A Greek inscription translates to “Archaeological Site of Philippi” and “Hellenic Republic”. Other inscriptions include “2017”, the Mint mark of the Greek Mint - a palmette and a monogram of the artist, George Stamatopoulos.

The city was renamed by Philip II of Macedon in 356 B.C. After the Ottomans conquered it in the 14th century, the city was deserted. It became a part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site list in 2016.

The 8.5 grams coin has a copper-nickel core and copper-aluminium-nickel ring. The outer ring features 12 stars of the European flag. The reverse shows a map of the European Union.