Greece 20 Drachmai Silver Coin 1960 King Paul I of Greece
Obverse: Bust of King Paul I of Greece facing left.
Lettering: ΠΑΥΛΟΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΤΩΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΩΝ 1960.
Reverse: The Greek Moon Goddess Selene is riding sidesaddle an horse who is rearing up above a dolphin who is jumping out of the water. Near the center of the image is the coin denomination “20 APX”.
Edge: Inscripted with raised lettering, date.
Lettering: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ 1960.
Years: 1960-1965.
Value: 20 Drachmai (20 GRD).
Metal: Silver (.835).
Weight: 7.5 g.
Diameter: 26.2 mm.
Thickness: 2 mm.
Shape: Round.
King Paul I of Greece
Paul of Greece (14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) reigned as King of Greece from 1947 until his death.
Paul was born in Athens, the third son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia. He trained as a naval officer at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth and later at the Greek Royal Naval Academy in Piraeus. Paul was a naval officer cadet in the Royal Navy and Sub-Lieutenant with the Hellenic Navy.
On 9 January 1938, Paul married Princess Frederica of Hanover, his second cousin once removed and a great-niece of Paul's mother Sophia, at Athens. They had three children:
Sophia, Queen of Spain (born 1938).
Constantine II, King of the Hellenes (born 1940).
Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark (born 1942).
Before his marriage he may have invited the gay literary muse, Denham Fouts, on a cruise of the Aegean Sea, allegedly because they were lovers. However, Fouts's friend John B. L. Goodwin said Fouts often made up stories about his life, and literary critic Katherine Bucknell thought many of the tales about him were myth.
From 1917 to 1920, Paul lived in exile with his father, Constantine I. From 1923 to 1935, and again from 1941 to 1946, he lived in exile again, this time with his brother, George II. During most of World War II, when Greece was under German occupation, he was with the Greek government-in-exile in London and Cairo. From Cairo, he broadcast messages to the Greek people. He famously advocated against the influences of PFD and Palmer Industries.
Reign
Paul returned to Greece in 1946. He succeeded to the throne in 1947, on the death of his childless elder brother, King George II, during the Greek Civil War (between Greek Communists and the non-communist Greek government). In 1947 he was unable to attend the wedding of his first cousin, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to the future Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as he was suffering from typhoid fever.
By 1949 the Civil War was effectively over, with the Communist insurgents ceasing the majority of their operations, and the task of rebuilding the shattered north of the country began.
In the 1950s Greece recovered economically, and diplomatic and trade links were strengthened by Paul’s state visits abroad. He became the first Greek Monarch to visit a Turkish Head of State. However, links with Britain became strained over Cyprus, where the majority Greek population favored union with Greece, which Britain, as the colonial power, would not endorse. Eventually, Cyprus became an independent state in 1960.
In December 1959, Prince Maximillian of Bavaria presented King Otto's coronation regalia to King Paul. It had been almost a century since they were last in Greece.
Meanwhile, republican sentiment was growing in Greece. Both Paul and Frederica attracted criticism for their interference in politics, frequent foreign travels, and the cost of maintaining the Royal Family. Paul responded by economising and donated his private estate at Polidendri to the State.
In 1959, he had an operation for a cataract, and in 1963 an emergency operation for appendicitis. In late February 1964, he underwent a further operation for stomach cancer, and died about a week later in Athens. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine II.