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Ten years of the Euro

— The symbol of European unity marks its first decade.”

A decade ago today, the single European currency – the ‘Euro’ for short – was introduced. The Euro is not just a currency, of course, but the very symbol of European integration.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Despite widespread and persistent criticism and an initially bumpy ride on the global money markets, the Euro appears to have faired relatively well, for the moment demonstrating a certain resilience in these torrid times.

With its origins in the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, the Euro is the sole currency in use today in sixteen countries of the European Union.

Strictly speaking, today’s anniversary applies to the Euro only in its accounting (i.e. non-physical) form. Notes and coins did not appear until the beginning of 2002.

In addition to the common, value face of the Euro coin, the other face contains a ‘national’ design peculiar to the country of origin but valid in all states that accept the currency.

The national face typically contains symbols or figureheads of the member state.

To commemorate ten years of European Monetary Union, a competition was launched for the design of a new national face for a special edition two-euro coin.

Citizens of European member states were invited to vote at the competition website. With over 40% of around 140,000 votes, a rather curious selection was made in favour of the design shown here.