The presentation of the programme was made by the Director of IETA, Markos Kontaxopoulos, in the context of the "Media Forum".

After two years of disruption due to the pandemic, it is an immense pleasure for us at the Bank of Greece and the Greek Mint to join again this annual reunion of our numismatic family in its natural setting.

The World Money Fair gives us an opportunity to be again among friends, colleagues, collectors and partners, and to present something different, a small thread of light, a thread of optimism after a long period of darkness.

To escape from the suffocating microcosm of viruses and diseases, we turn our eyes to a completely different direction; we gaze upwards, to the macrocosm of the heavens.

We are inspired by the stars. By stars we refer to persons, myths and history events whose light still reaches us although they first shone in the past.

Maria Callas, the legendary soprano that revolutionised opera singing, was nothing short of a star; so was Constantin Carathéodory, a mathematician highly esteemed by such great scientists as Einstein and Max Planck; or Antonis Samarakis, a human rights champion, UNICEF ambassador and award-winning writer of international renown.

The name of the lunar goddess Artemis is still featured in NASA’s programme to return astronauts to the moon, while the name Euclid will certainly bring memories of laborious homework to any former student who has grappled with the Euclidean geometry, so named in his honour.

As will be the case every year in this decade, which marks several bicentenaries of dramatic events in the Greek Revolution, our Numismatic Programme for 2023 includes:

• a silver coin commemorating 200 years from the Battle of Karpenisi, a Greek victory that was soured by the death of Markos Botsaris, a great military leader; and
• a silver coin dedicated to Karl Normann, the second in our Philhellenes series, celebrating German Philhellenism and its contribution to the cause of Greek independence and to Greek culture in general. Many Germans that loved our country joined the Revolution and fought for Greek freedom.

Turning to Greece’s more recent history, a silver coin commemorates 50 years from the Athens Polytechnic student uprising, which precipitated the fall of the junta one year later.

Our numismatic programme for 2023 will, of course, also include products in our long-standing popular series:

• the automatic maidservant of Philo, the first known functional robot, in the Ancient Greek technology series;
• the enchanting city of Nafplio, first capital of Greece (in our Tourism series);
• the sacred island of Delos, birthplace of Apollo and Artemis (in our Cultural Heritage series);
• Fritillaria Davisii, a fascinating endemic wildflower of the Southern Peloponnese (in our Endemic flora of Greece series).

Last but not least, a silver coin dedicated to 2023 – Eleusis European Capital of Culture celebrates one of the most ancient cities in Europe and its modern-day efforts for urban regeneration.

This host of personalities, historical events, and cultural and natural treasures make up the galaxy of our Numismatic Programme for 2023.

We are looking forward to welcoming you at booth E13 and taking you on a journey through this galaxy.