The huge difference between the currencies that make up the euro has made the single currency very popular among coin collectors: the euro is now used by 19 countries and since each currency has a different “face” depending on the country of origin , this number is very high. Even considering that since 2004 about 400 coins have been produced in each user country, there is no lack of variety.
The first commemorative coin of the Euro “family” was made in Greece for the 2004 Olympic Games, and the most famous and special 2 Euro coin was minted by Greece.
It is the “owl coin”. This animal is part of ancient Greek mythology and is the sacred animal of the goddess Athena, divinity of wisdom, war and the arts. The coin is inspired by an ancient 4 drachma coin. The representation of the owl was maintained even after the slight restyling of the Greek coins in 2007, which influenced the other side of the coin, the one with the face value and the European map.
In fact the animal depicted is an owl, a symbol of wisdom and but the goddess Athena is also depicted, one of the most popular goddesses of the classical period, they symbolize not only wisdom but also culture, knowledge and tenacity. The presence on the 2 Euro coin is a tribute to the ubiquitous Greek 4 drachma coin in antiquity. As mentioned, the obverse shows the owl of Athena, with at the top a symbol called Anthemion, the “signature” of the Athens Mint, and at the bottom the year of the mint.
This is the value
Even more interesting from this point of view are the recently created coins with the owl: those with the asterisk S on the bottom of the owl are very popular, but this is actually not a sign of rarity, as they originate from Finland, that is Finland, as the Finnish state dealt with the minting of coins from Greece and Cyprus in the early years.
The real value of the 1 euro coin with the S is not higher than the face coin, and the most interesting thing is the coin of 2013, the year in which the number of coins produced in Greece was significantly lower. This is why a 2013 coin featuring an owl is worth a whopping € 15 in uncirculated condition.
Over the years, the coin with the owl symbol has been highly appreciated by lovers of numismatics on the web. On the Internet, very hot rumors have been circulating for years about the rarity of this piece, even if some examples could very well have reached us Italians, given that Greece is not far away and quite popular, especially during the holidays.
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