We are leaving shortly for Germany and Austria and wish to convert some cash prior to departure. Should we convert to German Marks and Austrian shillings or to Eurodollars? How well used are Eurodollars?

There is no such thing as a Eurodollar. <BR>If you mean the Euro, it is not in existence yet as paper or metal currency yet. The Euro serves as a measure of value for pricing, but there is no medium of exchange that you can carry around in your pocket. <BR>The value of each national currency has been pegged to the Euro, so you can tell what something costs in Euros as well as the local currency. Divide the price in Euros by 1.1 and you have a good indication. (Or multiply by .9)

The Brit's have shillings, the Oestereichers have schillings. Convert to Deutsche marks, change a minimum amount, use credit cards and ATMs for the best exchange rate.

As Gerhard posts from Canada, he shouldn't use the 1.1 and .9 calculations that Al suggested. <BR>

Er, Ricbard, we haven't had shillings since 1971.

Yep. I did not read the fine print. <BR>Ca last I heard meant Canada when serving as the final two letters, to the right of a period, on an Internet address. <BR>For the Canadian dollar, the factor on Friday was 1.339. So divide Dollars Canadian by 1.339 and you have a close approximation of the number of Euros the exchange will bring. <BR>I do miss the old shillings in Britain. <BR>I can recall trying to figure out 20 shillings to the pound, 12 pence to the shilling, (???), and help me out on florins, half crowns, and guineas. <BR>Then throw a bob and a quid into the mix, and the arithmetic got involved. <BR>

We just returned from Europe and noticed one thing about the Euro: It was very close to 1 to 1 with the dollar. So, when you saw the posted Euro price it was very close to the price in dollars. This gave us a very quick ballpark for pricing without doing the mental calculations. Check out the Euro/dollar relationship before you head to Europe. If it is still close to 1 to 1, just look for the price of an item in Euros and you will know the dollar cost also.

There is no such thing as a eurodollar! Nor a British Shilling! The "Brits" use pounds and pence. The "Euro" currency will not be in note form until Jan 2002, so the D-Mark will be more useful. <BR> <BR>