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| Greek Coins 5 Drachmai Silver coin of 1833. |
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| Greek Coins 5 Drachmai Silver coin of 1833, Othon King Otto of Greece. |
Greek Coins Kingdom 5 Drachmai Silver coin of 1833 Othon King Otto of Greece
Greek Coins, Coins of Greece, Greek Silver Coins,Greek Drachma.
Obverse: Head of Othon (Otto of Bavaria) as King of the Hellenes right. Greek legend around.
Reverse: Crowned Greek shield, flanked by olive-branches. Denomination and date below.
Legend: 5 DRACHMAI (anchor) 1835 (A) *
Mint Place: Paris (A).
Reference: Davenport 115, Divo 10b, KM-20.
Weight: 22.13 gram of Silver.
Diameter: 38 mm.
King Otto of Greece
Otto, also spelled Otho (Greek: O Óthon, Vasiléfs tis Elládos; 1 June 1815 – 26 July 1867), was the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. While the elder son, Maximilian, ascended to the Bavarian throne, Otto became the first King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London. His intentions were honorable, but he had compromised himself politically and had to obey the great powers of Europe who had placed him on the throne. When he didn't attack the Ottoman Empire, his nation's arch-enemy, he lost the support of the Greek people and was deposed in 1862.
The second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended the newly created throne of Greece while still a minor. His government was initially run by a three-man regency council made up of Bavarian court officials. Upon reaching his majority, Otto removed the regents when they proved unpopular with the people and he ruled as an absolute monarch. Eventually his subjects' demands for a Constitution proved overwhelming and in the face of an armed but peaceful insurrection, Otto granted a constitution in 1843. However he rigged elections using fraud and terror.
Throughout his reign, Otto was unable to resolve Greece's poverty and economic meddling from outside powers. The politics of Greece of this era was based on affiliations with the three Great Powers, and Otto's ability to maintain the support of the powers was key to his remaining in power. To remain strong, Otto had to play the interests of each of the Great Powers' Greek adherents against the others, while not aggravating the Great Powers. When Greece was blockaded by the (British) Royal Navy in 1850 and again in 1854, to stop Greece from attacking the Ottoman Empire during the Crimean War, Otto's standing amongst Greeks suffered. As a result, there was an assassination attempt on the Queen and finally, in 1862, Otto was deposed while in the countryside. He died in exile in Bavaria in 1867.