I'm so excited! I found these today in my friends coin jar! I can't tell where the 1882 is from though.
First one could be a George 1 Greek 5 Lepta https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4088.html Second one is a 50 Lepta Greek issue. With the B mintmark though it means it was struck in 1930. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces6245.html
The word ΟΒΟΛΟΣ (Obolos) on the Greek 5 Lepta coin meant that it was equal to a British half penny, commonly called an obol. Many countries at that time had their monetary system tied to the British one in some way. I have the 10 Lepta version, same year, of this coin. You can see the "A" mint mark below the bow on the reverse; that means it was minted in Paris. Many Greek coins and stamps of the late 19th century were actually produced in France. George I was the recently deceased Prince Philip of England's grandfather. (George I was assassinated in 1913, BTW, by a Socialist sympathizer.) In a story I've told on this forum before, my family on my mother's side knew King George I's son, also named George, when he was High Commissioner of Crete after the 1897-98 revolt that my family played a major role in, that freed Crete from Ottoman rule.
The 50 Lepta Greek coin (2nd Hellenic Republic) was minted in Vienna, hence the B mint mark. The words ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ mean "Republic of Greece"
One of the most mind blowing things I discovered when collecting foreign money is that Greece is called Hellas, Hellinikos, Ellados, or some variant of “Hellene”
The name "Greece" is actually from the Latin name for the country, "Graecia". "Hellas" is the Greek word. The other forms are either genitive case or adjectives
The history of these amazes me. I can't imagine the feeling of having family involved. How cool is that?! Thank you did sharing with me.
