Greece

2015

Commemorative coin

75 years in memoriam of Spyros Louis

Official Journal of the European Union

The design shows Spyros Louis and the cup that he was awarded, against the background with the Panathenaic Stadium. Inscribed along the inner edge is the country of issuance ‘HELLENIC REPUBLIC’ and ‘75 YEARS IN MEMORIAM OF SPYROS LOUIS’ (in Greek). Above the cup appears the year of issuance ‘2015’ and to the right a palmette (the mint mark of the Greek Mint). Visible at the bottom of the design is the monogram of the artist (George Stamatopoulos). The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

In 1896, at the first Olympic Games of modern times, a marathon was held at the suggestion of the Philhellene Michel Bréal. At that time, silver medals were awarded to the winners, and the winner of the marathon, Spyros Louis, also received a silver cup donated by Bréal, which survived the turbulent 20th century unscathed in the family's possession and is now on display in the Acropolis Museum. The 15 cm high goblet is decorated in Art Nouveau with birds, an insect and marsh plants such as the iris, which symbolizes chivalry and was once native to the Marathon marshes, which were drained in the middle of the 20th century. The inscription reads: "Olympic Games - 1896 - Marathon trophy - donated by Michel Bréal". The design of the coin depicts the athlete after a contemporary photograph, dressed in the traditional costume of the Evzones and in front of the Panathenian Stadium, a reconstruction of the stadium built around 330 BC for the Panathenian Games.

Edge lettering

Designer