The euro
• As you will see, all euro banknotes with the same value have the same
design in all countries. So a €10 banknote has the same design whether it is printed in Germany, Italy or Slovenia.
• The designs on euro banknotes were chosen following a competition when the euro was launched. If you look at the designs you can see that they represent the different architectural styles in Europe through the ages – mostly of bridges and windows.
Euro Notes
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Coins
Euro Coins Euro coins are not the same across Europe. One side of euro coins is the same in all countries – this is called the common side. The common side to euro and cent coins shows different maps of the European Union.
The other has a different design depending on the country that issued it – this is called the national side. The designs on the national sides are very diverse but usually depict some aspect of the country's history, art or nature, among other themes.
20th century currencies in Europe • Before the euro was introduced most European countries had their own coins and banknotes – their own currency.
• For travel and trade, it was necessary to change money as you changed
country. In Germany you paid in Deutschmarks, if you left Germany and travelled to France you had to exchange your Deutschmarks for French Francs, and so on.
The names of Europe's old currencies often revealed something about their origins: • The schilling, used in Austria, was named after a mark on a stick used for counting.
• The franc, meaning 'free' in French, was first minted in the 14th century to pay the ransom for the French King John the Good.
Slovenian tolar • The tolar used in Slovenia comes from the medieval coin, the thaler, first minted in the Czech Republic in 1518 – the name 'thaler' is the origin of the term 'dollar' in the USA.
• The name of the Greek drachma means 'handful' and refers to a handful of six metal bars that were used as currency before the drachma was introduced in ancient Greece.
German mark
Portuguese escudo
Irish pound
Italian lira
One currency for all • This single currency – the euro – was first introduced in 1999 as 'book money', with the national currencies still circulating but having become sub-units of the euro.
Then, in 2002, the changeover to the new currency was completed with the introduction of euro banknotes and coins. Today, the euro is the only currency of all the countries in the euro area.
• This means that you no longer need to exchange coins and banknotes when
you cross borders. So trade is much easier, giving us greater choice of what to buy. Likewise, travel is much easier and less expensive because we no longer need to change currencies when going on holiday abroad.
Who uses the euro? • Not all countries in the European Union use the
euro – some of them still use their own national currencies. This is mainly because their economies are not yet ready to adopt the euro, but two countries (Denmark and the United Kingdom) have decided that they will keep their national currency for the time being.
How does the euro help us?
• Because the euro is used throughout the 17 countries in the euro area, we
can easily make price comparisons. So, we can order things, for example a television set or a book, from abroad if it is cheaper there.In turn, this increases competition among suppliers and shops to reduce prices even more.
Sharing our values
• The euro does not only have a value as money.
It also has a strong symbolic value for Europe and Europeans.
• The euro is the most widespread symbol of what Europe is about – unity in diversity
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/netstartsearch/euro/kids/euro_bg.htm#intro