The Euro is a unified currency that is circulating simultaneously in several European countries. The agreement on the introduction of a single currency greatly simplified trade relations between them: after all, since then it has become possible to pay in stores, for example, in Germany and France, with the same bills.
The emergence of the euro
Having agreed on the introduction of a single currency in the Eurozone, the countries that made such a decision introduced a currency called the euro. This happened on January 1, 1999. To denote the introduced currency, the English-language spelling "euro" was adopted, however, in the languages of most countries there is a national designation for this monetary unit.
Currently, the euro is in circulation in 18 countries outside and outside the European Union, and the total money supply in circulation is almost a trillion euros. At the same time, a number of countries belonging to the European Union did not abandon their national currency and did not switch to the euro: for example, these include Sweden, the Czech Republic, Latvia and 7 other states. In this regard, in addition to the term "European Union", it is customary to highlight the concept of the Eurozone, which unites 18 countries, where the euro is the main means of payment.
Euro denominations
The euro is issued by the central banks of the EU states in the form of coins and banknotes. At the same time, banknotes circulating in European countries have seven different denominations. Thus, the smallest banknote in circulation at the moment is 5 euros. In this case, the maximum denomination of a banknote is 500 euros. In addition to these banknotes, banks also issue banknotes with denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 euros.
It is noteworthy that although bills are printed in different countries, all central banks use the same banknote design on both sides of the currency. At the same time, the largest banknotes with a face value of 200 and 500 euros are not issued in all countries. However, you can pay with them even in those countries that do not print banknotes of this denomination themselves: in fact, at the moment it does not matter in which country this or that banknote is issued.
One euro is divided into 100 smaller units, which are commonly called euro cents. They are actively used for small purchases, therefore they are issued exclusively in the form of coins. So, today in circulation there are coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro cents. In addition, there are coins in denominations of 1 and 2 euros. Interestingly, the coins issued by different countries in the Eurozone have only one identical side, which shows their denomination and a stylized map of Europe. The other side is used to apply various national symbols and therefore differs among themselves in different countries. However, there are no restrictions on the use of such coins in other states.
