50 Drachmes

This denomination was introduced as part of a broader Greek monetary reform following the drachma's devaluation pressures of the early 1980s, when inflation regularly exceeded 20% annually. The aluminium bronze alloy was chosen partly for its resistance to corrosion in Mediterranean coastal circulation conditions — a practical concern that influenced several southern European mint specifications of the period.

Greece abandoned the drachma entirely on 1 January 2002, making the last coins of this type struck in 2000 among the final issues of one of the oldest continuously named currencies in history.