The Euro
The euro is the official currency of the European Union (EU), and is currently in use in 16 of the 27 Member countries. The countries are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
Bank Notes
Euro banknotes are issued by the European Central Bank (ECB) and each has the signature of the President of the European Central Bank on it. The notes range from €5 to €500 and, unlike euro coins, the design is identical across the different countries. Each note has a different colour and size (the higher the value of the bank note, the bigger it is.)
Security Features
Various security features have been incorporated into the euro banknotes. They will help you to recognise a real banknote at a glance.
Feel the raised print – special printing processes give banknotes their unique feel.
Look at the banknote and hold it against the light: the watermark, the security thread and the see-through number will then be visible. All three features can be seen from the front and back of real banknotes.
Tilt the banknote: on the front, you can see the shifting image on the hologram. On the back, you can see the glossy stripe (on the €5, €10 and €20 banknotes) or the colour-changing number (on the €50, €100, €200 and €500 banknotes).
Euro Coins
There are eight euro coins, ranging in value from one cent to two euro (each euro is divided into a hundred cents). The coins have a map of Europe on one side, but each country has its own design on the other side, which means that each coin has a variety of different designs depending on the country which you are in. In Ireland, we have the symbol of the harp on the back of all of our euro coins.
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