Nice coin, George. Even in worn condition these old silver coins from Greece are worth big bucks. They are quite rare and commnad good prices. Cleaning will ruin your coin, as will other problems like scratches, stains, nicks, and other forms of multilation.

NEVER CLEAN A COIN. CLEANING RUINS VALUE.

The 5 drachmai coin in our picture comes from Coin House SESAM Basel in Riehen, Switzerland. It carries average circulated wear, has no problems and nice looks, and is selling for 220 euros (about $300 USD) retail. CoinQuest thanks CHS Basel for letting us use their coin photo.

As with all valuable coins, you must be alert to counterfeits, and you should try to preserve your coin by keeping it away from friction and airborne elements. The best way to do both of these is to have the coin authenticated, graded, and encapsulated by PCGS, NGC, ANACS, or ICG. Do not use other services. Look them up on the Internet.

In something unusual for most coins, the earlier dates carry *less* value than the later dates for these coins. This is due to the mintage figures and to the fact that people tend to save new designs when they first see them.

Here is a run-down of typical (approximate) catalog values. You must apply the concepts on our Important Terminology page to convert these catalog values to actual values.

1/2 DRACHMA (18 mm diameter)
worn: $30 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $100
well preserved: $350
coins dated after 1834 are very rare, multiply these values by 15

1 DRACHMA (23 mm diameter)
worn: $60 US dollars approximated catalog value
average circulated: $150
well preserved: $500
coins dated 1834 and 1846 are rare, multiply these values by 6
coins dated 1845 and 1847 are very rare, multiply these values by 15

5 DRACHMAI (38 mm diameter)
worn: $100 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $350
well preserved: $800
coins dated 1844 are rare, multiply these values by 3
coins dated 1845 are very rare, multiply these values by 15

You can make some sense out of the inscriptions on Greek coins if you apply these Greek-English equivalents. For instance, the word DRACHMAI is a one-to-one letter replacement, which is the case (I believe) with all Greek-English words.