Greece and Turkey
From 1920 to 1923, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a Turkish war hero and reformer, led a
successful revolution, ending the 500-year rule of the Ottoman dynasty over Turkey
and replacing the royal government with a democratic republic. In Greece, the
military junta of 1967-1974 put an end to the rule of kings. When military rule ended in 1974, a new Greek democratic state was born.
Ottoman gold 100 kurush (1918) issued
by Muhammad VI (1918-1926), the last Ottoman sultan.
Turkish stainless steel lira (1971) of the Republic of
Turkey with the portrait of Ataturk. Ataturk (1881-1938) abolished the Ottoman
script and replaced it with the Roman alphabet.
Greek copper-nickel 5 drachmes
(1971) with a portrait of Constantine II (1964-1973), the last king of Greece.
Greek copper-nickel 100 drachmes
(1994) with a portrait of Alexander the Great wearing the horns of Ammon. Modern
Greek coinage often looks back to the ancient past.