200th Anniversary of the Death of Laskarina Bouboulina

To the right, the heroine of the Greek War of Independence Laskarina Bouboulina (1771–1825), based on a 19th-century painting by an anonymous artist, set against the rigging of a sailing ship. Running from lower left to upper right along the edge is the commemorative inscription "200 XRONIA APO TO θANATO THΣ ΛAΣKAPΝAΣ M П OYMП OYΛIΝAΣ"; the issuing state "ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ" appears at lower right. To the left, the year 2025 and the palmette of the Greek mint; below, the coin designer's initials "λδ".

In the early 19th century, when the Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule broke out, Laskarina Bouboulina was one of the most extraordinary figures of the uprising. Born in 1771 on the island of Spetses into a seafaring family, she built up a considerable trading fortune after the death of her second husband and invested it in equipping several warships. From 1821 she personally commanded this fleet, taking part in the naval blockade of Nafplio and other operations along the Peloponnesian coast — at a time when women simply had no place in warfare. The Russian imperial family recognized her extraordinary standing and admitted her as the only woman into the nobility. Bouboulina died in 1825 in her hometown on Spetses under unexplained circumstances.

In Greece, Bouboulina is regarded as a national heroine and a symbol of the struggle for liberation. Her portrait adorned Greek banknotes for decades, her birthplace on Spetses is now a museum, and the navy continues to name ships after her to this day. The island of Spetses itself draws part of its tourist appeal from her legacy. By international standards, Bouboulina remains unusual: a woman who, in wartime, acted not as a nurse or symbolic figure but as a fleet commander has no parallel in early 19th-century Europe. To mark the 200th anniversary of Laskarina Bouboulina's death, Greece issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2025.