Which brings up another building mini-controversy - there are some EU figures now complaining that the proliferation of nation-specific euro coinage, some of it okay for circulation (not this particular piece, of course), is counter to the spirit, if not the letter, of the EU currency agreement. Comment? I've heard that some of the Austrian 5-euro copper pieces do circulate. Also, these same EU voices are complaining of the dropping of 1 cent and 2 cent pieces in some euro currency nations. By not being there, I don't get the full flavor of this issue, but isn't a currency union supposed to be uniform?
We have the circulation coins (eight denominations) plus the commemorative coins (€2), and those are legal tender in the entire euro area. As for those country-specific collector coins, sure, such issues defeat the purpose of a joint currency. Then again, EU law says that: "Collector coins shall have the status of legal tender only in the issuing Member State." And also: "Member States shall take all appropriate measures to discourage the use of collector coins as a means of payment." (Article 5) So in everyday life, who cares about those oddball pieces ... Doing away with the 1 and 2 cent coins, well, I support the idea. I am in the Netherlands (half an hour from here) fairly often, and cash totals are rounded there so that the low denominations are not needed. Other "rounding" countries are Belgium, Finland, and Ireland. Sure, would be nice if that applied in the entire euro area. Maybe at some later point Christian
LOL! Yeah, I hear you. Funny how when anybody suggests eliminating the cent in the US (slightly less value than a euro cent), the conspiracy theorists blow their tops.
