Euros
 

For 1'st trip to Europe next month need help on Italian monetary system. What coins and bills are there?

Here's everything you need to know about the Euro.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro

Coins
Freq. used 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50cent + €1, €2

Banknotes
Freq. used €5, €10, €20, €50
Rarely used €100, €200, €500

http://www.ecb.eu/bc/euro/coins/html/index.en.html

This page by the European Central Bank has pictures of all the banknotes and the coins, also the different national backsides.

Each of the participating countries issue their own coins with specific backsides. Note that all of these can be used in any Euro country, no matter where they were issued.

Footnote for fun: Check your purse now and then, it can be interesting to see how many different nationalities you've got in there. Maybe you'll even want to collect them.

Does anyone remember how people used to get bent out of shape when posters would say "euros"? There was always someone quick jump down their throats and correct the poster and say "Its not plural, no S, its euro". However, I have heard more people in Spain, Porugal and Ireland call it euros.

I don't understand your point travelme. I can have one Euro but not one Euros. I can have ten Euros in my purse but I would tend to say something cost ten Euro, not ten Euros. Likewise if the ten Euros in my purse consists of a single note I would say I have a ten Euro note, not a ten Euros note. Surely that is the same with dollars?

Talking of Euro notes - you can tell which country they are from by the letter in the serial number. P is the the Netherlands for instance.

All I am saying is that people d=sometimes refer to it has euros and not just euro.

Community law requires a single spelling of the word “euro” in the nominative singular case in all Community and national legislative provisions, taking into account the existence of different alphabets.

However, the Directorate-General for Translation, the EU's translation service, recommends that in English language texts the regular plurals 'euros' and 'cents' should be used in non-legal documents intended for the general public.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguis...rning_the_euro

Yes it is the same with dollars - you pluralize or not depending on context.

I only remember folks getting crazy when Euros were referred to as "Euro dollars."

My question is what are the amounts below 1 euro called? I thought they were called cents or euro cents but when I was in France people in shops called them centimes. Is that just a hold over from the Franc and do people in other countries still use the old terms? I can't remember from my Italy trip but then I probably didn't buy anything for less than 1 euro there.

It's just the French franc memory..in Ireland we don't refer to the coins as pennies, just as cents or eurocents.

Thanks Lawchick. That's what I thought. Must be because cents and centimes sound similar and it's easy to lapse back into the old money terms.

May possibly be because the French for hundred is cent. Using centimes avoids confusion.

Thanks for all the great Euro or Euros info...it definately helps!!

So is the rule:

10 1€ coins = 10 euroS

10€ bill = 10 euro

?

Holland has dropped the 1 and 2 cent coins, but some people still refer to the 10 cent coin as a dubbeltje and the 5 cent coin as a stuiver. Sadly the other local names for coins have been lost along with the Guilder, since we no longer have a kwartje (25c) nor the really useful rijksdaalder of riks (HFl 2.5)equivalent.
I think nicknames for coins comes only with the love of a coinage system - something which hasn't happened here - tolerance yes, acceptance just about, but love? Never!

Thinking more about the plural thing. When writing about money I will tend to use Euro's (Dutch spelling), but when speaking about money I tend to use Euro, unless it is for a small amount. So I bought an electric kettle yesterday for 11 Euro (really!), filled the car up for 70 Euro(!!) and now I have only 3 Euros in my purse. How weird is that?

I haven't been to Europe in 12 years. We will be in France, Italy, & Spain starting next week for 24 days. Is it OK to bring U. S. dollars ($1's & $5's) for tipping? Are they accepted or will they be shrugged off? Thanks for your opinions.

Please don't tip with US$. Would a euro tip be accepted in US?

Some conuntries may have a weak currency where the US$ would be prized. I would not place Europe in that category.

The reaction would be worse than a shrug, I imagine. Why on earth would a French, Italian, or Spanish person want your dollars? Let's see, thanks, now I'll go stand in line at my bank and pay a fee to have your $5 bill turned into about €3 - you Americans really know how to make a guy's day!

HI M,

> Is it OK to bring U. S. dollars ($1's & $5's) for tipping? Are they accepted or will they be shrugged off? <

Aha, you figure that if you leave a $5 bill, you will save over leaving a 5E bill, right? :)

((I))
They won't be happy with a chocolate bar either. :)

LOL Ira - how about tipping with nylons! :)

Years ago travel agents advised people to bring lots of $1 bills to Europe for tips. Perhaps that was the "done thing" long ago when the dollar was strong and banks didn't charge a huge conversion fee but times have changed. Even 12 years ago (or 20 years ago) I tipped in the local currency. Never thought about giving dollars.

Even though this "pay/tip in $" question comes up kind of frequently, I am STILL surprised by it!

It's bad enough that waiters in other countries have to struggle through trying to get our order correct when offered in fractured French/Italian/Spanish/etc.

Please, folks, tip in the currency of the country you are visiting.