Money of the countries of the European Union: interesting facts and the history of the appearance of a coin in 1 euro

The euro is the official monetary unit of the European Union, which appeared not so long ago. The article will tell about the history of its appearance, as well as pay special attention to a 1 euro coin.

History of the euro

To begin with, a bit of history: the very name of the currency - the euro - was put into circulation in 1995 in Madrid; And on the first day of 1999 the single currency of the European Economic and Monetary Union appeared, which has since been an independent monetary unit and one of the main reserve (world) currencies. Euro banknotes and coins were issued in circulation in 2002. They have circulation in 18 countries: Germany, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, France, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, etc.

Common points in the design of coins

In 1996, the Council of the European Monetary Institute announced a tender for the development of a better design for a pan-European currency, in which representatives from 44 countries participated. The winner was the Austrian artist Robert Kalina. In honor of an outstanding compatriot, the Austrians call the euro today "Kalinas". For the euro was developed a single symbol, the basis of which is the Greek letter "epsilon", and crossed out its lines mean the stability of the currency. As for the reverse (the reverse side of the coin) - for all coins it is the same and indicates the nominal value.

Individual coin features in one euro

On all coins of the denomination in question, there is a drawing containing 12 stars, which means the number of eurozone countries, as well as the year of issue. However, on the obverse, each of the participating countries could place any image. So, the project of the Italians, based on the work of Leonardo da Vinci, was the most elegant. Ireland has placed on the coins an image of the Celtic harp, from the Austrians it is a portrait of Mozart. A coin depicting a great composer can be a wonderful souvenir brought from this country. Coins, which depicts Europe without borders, have a certain thickness and amount to 100 cents. The diameter of the coin is 23.25 mm, the thickness is 2.125 mm, its weight is 7.50 g.

Interesting facts about euro coins

Euro coins are a common and legitimate means of payment in any EU country. The chasing of the new currency took 5 years, and its amount amounted to 50 billion new coins. If you stack them in a column, then its height will exceed the tallest building of London Canary Wharf by half a million times, and the total weight of banknotes issued, for example, by France, three times the weight of the Eiffel Tower. With the introduction of the currency there were also amusing incidents. In Italy, a new model of the purse - "porto-euro" is produced and is very popular, especially suitable for coins, which entailed an increase in the production and sales of leather goods factories. It is noteworthy that 1 euro was the only coin in the Italians who did not take part in voting for the best design, because the Minister of Economy alone decided that it would depict Leonardo da Vinci. The Belgians were the most conservative, depicting on the coins the profile of the king. Of particular interest are coins 1 euro for numismatists, since they are minted a small number. Their market value in the auction sense exceeds the kit price by more than 100 times. For example, the coins of the Vatican, which depicts Pope John Paul II, are estimated at 670 million euros. In addition, almost everyone can be found in a purse smooth coin of yellow-white color with a denomination of 1 euro. It is commonly believed that its owner will always be with money with such a talisman. And one more interesting fact (in case of force majeure circumstances outside the Motherland). According to travelers who returned recently from a trip to Europe, some vehicles there take for 1 euro a double-ruble coin (let the euro-zone countries forgive us) ...