20 Drachmai Gold Coin of Othon

Dated 1833, a 20 drachmai gold coin of King Othon. Struck at the Munich mint, with dies by Voigt. Due to the Bavarian love for classical antiquity, the name of the ancient Greek unit, the drachma, was revived as the currency of the new state. However, a decree from the same year, 1833, authorized the circulation of 45 types of foreign coins, and the poor-quality foreign currency drove the high-quality drachma silver coins to be melted down. A contemporary wrote, "The drachma has become a ghost currency." The name had returned, but the market still belonged to other people's money.