Greek Phoenix - Minting The Phoenix

Minting The Phoenix

Kapodistrias made Alexandros Kontostavlos responsible for minting the phoenix. Kontostavlos travelled to Malta, where he negotiated the purchase of several coin presses, originally owned by the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes. The machines were returned to Kapodistrias' court in Aegina.

The dies for the phoenix were carved by Chatzigrigoris Pyrobolistis, an Armenian jeweller, and the first sample coins were produced on the 27th of June 1829, in the agreed denominations of 1 phoenix, 20 lepta, 10 lepta, 5 lepta and 1 lepton. On the 30th of June 1829 the National Mint was founded, and production of coins continued. October 1st 1829 was set as the official launch date for the new currency. All phoenixes were minted at the National Mint of Aegina, which continued to operate until 1833. Coincidentally, Aegina is where the first ancient and modern Greek coins were minted - the staters of Aegina were minted in around 700 BC and were the first to circulate in the Ancient Greek world.