100 euro – 100th anniversary of the Liberation of the City of Thessaloniki

Since its foundation in Hellenistic times, Thessaloniki has always been an important centre of Hellenism. Thanks to its strategic position, the city assumed an increasingly pivotal role in the Balkans as a multi-ethnic and multicultural crossroads, both during Byzantine times and later under Ottoman rule. Thessaloniki was recaptured by the Greeks during the First Balkan War on 26 October 1912 and was formally ceded to Greece at the Balkan War with the signing of the Treaty 28 July 1913. Liberation would soon usher in a new era of progress and growth, especially after the Asia Minor Disaster of 1922 and the massive influx refugees, who would give new momentum and social life of the city. The obverse of the collector gold coin features a circular gold foil with a rosette at its centre, most probaly the adornment of a gearment (ancient cemetery of Nea Philadelphia, Thessaloniki, c . 480 BC), silhouetted against the Greek flag. The reverse of the coin features the White Tower of Thessaloniki and the coat of arms of the Hellenic Republic, flanked by stylized laurel leaves.