Okay, here's my question. Which countries use/make the euro? how did they work it out? i mean with the worth of pounds to marks? ect. what countries are going to use them and could the u.s use them?
The Euro is used by 16 countries. Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. In order to determine how much the national currencies were worth the via eachother all exchange rates were calculated using the Euro's value. As of January 1, 2002 all national curriencies ceased to be able to be used as currency. They all switched over to the Euro using the predetermined exchange rate. The process of switching over to the Euro took approximately 2 months and now all 16 countries listed above use the Euro as well as some other european countries that haven't converted their currency to the Euro and also in parts of Africa. Great Britian and Denmark were exempt from the switch to Euros so they do not use them. I hope this helps
Those "alls" are a little bit of an overstatement. On January 1, 2002, the Euro began circulating in only 11 countries. Greece, Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus and Slovakia, all converted in subsequent years. (Other European countries are even now contemplating, or planning, conversion.) Paper currency (€5, €10, €20, €50, €100 and the rarely used €200 and €500 denominations) is uniform throughout Euroland, but coins (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent, and €1)are minted by the member countries. Except when issuing commemoratives of €2 or higher denomination (which must have designs approved by the European Commission) all countries must mate an identical "common side" with the "national side" designed by the issuing country. Some use separate designs for each denomination, and others combine designs for multiple denominations. Here's something Clinker might want to expand upon in one of his trivia posts:Although there are only 16 member nations authorized to issue coins at the present time, there are 19 varieties to be collected. Under agreements with member countries to use a small part of their allotted mintage limit, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City also produce Euro coins. Monaco uses French authorization and the other two use Italian. (Before the Euro came along, Monaco's currency was tied to the French franc, and the San Marino/Vatican currencies were tied to the Italian lira.) Another bit of trivia: The Euro officially circulates in both North and South America, as well as the Indian Ocean and Caribbean Sea. (Look up Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, off the Canadian coast, French Guyana between Brazil and Suriname, and the off-shore Departments of France.)
Well, he is and he's not. As coin collectors we may be too much focused on when the euro cash became legal tender. That was 1 January 2002 indeed. The euro, however, was "born" on 1 January 1999 - on that day the currencies of the participating member states became "non-decimal sub-units" of the euro, with fixed exchange rates. And non-cash payments have been possible in € for more than ten years. In that first phase, there were 11 euro countries; Denmark and Greece stayed out but their currencies joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM-II). In January 2001, Greece became a euro country too. In 2007, Slovenia followed; Cyprus and Malta in 2008, and Slovakia in 2009. What is a little misleading is the part about the €2 coins. They are regular coins, just like the €1 pieces for example. However, there are also commemorative €2 coins. They have the same common sides as the regular pieces but a special country specific side, kinda like the US state quarters. Note that all euro countries also issue so-called collector coins, usually in silver and gold. Those are legal tender is the issuing member state only, thus regional money. But since they do not really circulate anyway, that hardly matters. Christian
Right, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican have monetary agreements with the European Union that allow them to issue euro coins. But when it comes to "varieties", there are many more than those 19. For example, the maps on the common sides of the mid-range and bimetallic pieces were modified in 2007. Also, several countries have modified their national sides too. Those changes are usually subtle, but people who collect by type may want them all ... Christian
The euro was created on 1 January 1999 - you may have seen this year's €2 commems that refer to 10 Years of the Economic and Monetary Union. Since the euro basically replaced the European Currency Unit (ECU) on a 1-1 basis, the value of the € in terms of DM, FF, etc. was somewhat predictable. Some changes were necessary, for example because some of the euro countries had not been ECU countries and vice versa. But here in Germany for example we pretty much knew that 1 euro would be about 2 marks - and since Jan-1999 the official rate has been 1.95583 ... Nowadays, when a country plans to join the currency union, it needs to be in the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM-II) first. If the exchange rate then stays within a +/- 15% fluctuation band for two years, and if some other convergence criteria are met, it can join. Theoretically all European Union member states that meet the convergence criteria have to join the currency union. There are two "opt-out" countries, however - the United Kingdom (which does not have anything to do with the euro) and Denmark (which is in ERM-II and with an even narrower fluctuation band of 2.25%). As for the others, well, as I wrote, they "theoretically" need to join. Practically however you don't really want any members in the currency union that could be damaging for the entire project. Dunno; why would the US use the euro anyway? Then again, "Frizio" (a graphic artist) designed this a few years ago ... http://www.webalice.it/annovi.frizio/coinsfantasy/dollar-euro500.gif Christian
Euro = bad for collectors...Less Variety in the future. But in the future people will collect old credit cards. Traci
Sure, after all the euro was introduced in/for the European Union, and Switzerland is not an EU member. I have quite a few modern Swiss coins, partly from traveling, partly from buying commems (most of their "special" coins can be had at face). Those who are focused on non-euro coins from Europe can also collect pieces from Norway, Croatia, Ukraine, and a couple of others apart from the ones already mentioned here. Side note: The euro is also used in some other places that are not parts of the European Union. Andorra and Montenegro for example; of course they do not issue "their own" euro coins. Hontonai mentioned a few other territories. And on 10-10-10 (easy to keep in mind) the Netherlands Antilles will cease to exist. Three of the islands will then become more or less regular Dutch cities and introduce the euro: Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. What they use in everyday life may be a different matter. Christian
