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5 Lepta Pattern
| Issuer | Kingdom of Greece |
|---|---|
| Year | 1833 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Lepta (0.05) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse field carries a bold five-line inscription in raised Latin capital letters arranged concentrically within the plain field, reading VON / T. ERTEL / IN / MÜNCHEN. / 1833, with the date 1833 positioned in the lower portion of the field and a small five-pointed star ornament below it serving as a terminal stop. The circular peripheral legend PROBE EINES PRÄGWERKES runs around the upper portion of the coin, separated from the reeded edge by a raised rim. The lettering is crisp and deeply struck, consistent with a presentation pattern piece intended to demonstrate the capabilities of Ertel's coining press. The overall composition is typographic rather than pictorial, emphasizing the technical and commercial purpose of this trial piece. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | PROBE EINES PRÄGWERKES * VON T. ERTEL IN MÜNCHEN. 1833 (Translation: Sample of the coin press by T. Ertel in Munich. 1833) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Greece's first coinage as an independent kingdom was entrusted to the Bavarian mint at Munich — a consequence of Otto of Wittelsbach's installation as king in 1832. These 1833 patterns were produced as the new government wrestled with establishing a monetary system from scratch, having inherited an economy devastated by over a decade of war against Ottoman rule. The Phoenix coinage of Kapodistrias had already come and gone; this series was Greece's second attempt at sovereign currency in fewer than ten years.
As a pattern, this piece never entered circulation. The Karamitsos reference places it among a small group of trial strikings evaluated before the confirmed series was approved.