The euro is the currency utilized by nations within the eurozone, but it is a relative newbie in the currency world. Here, we look at the histories of the numerous old currencies of Europe prior to the euro was presented.
German Deutschemark
The German Deutschemark (Deutsche Mark, DM or D-Mark) was the pre-euro currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990, and after that of the unified Federal Republic of Germany from 1990 up until 2002. The merged Federal Republic of Germany embraced the Deutschemark-- instead of the East German mark-- because the unified country was viewed as a bigger extension of West Germany, instead of a totally new follower state.
The Deutschemark was regarded as among the world's most steady currencies at the time that the Berlin Wall fell. In the 9 years prior to the introduction of the euro, the Deutschemark continued to flourish under the policies of the Bundesbank (German Central Bank), which favoured tight financial policy to lower the threat of significant increases in inflation.
After the introduction of euro coins and notes on 1 January 2002, the euro ended up being the official legal tender of Germany right away. Deutschemark coins and notes continued to be accepted as payment up until late February 2002, with the exchange rate for Deutschemarks to euros repaired at 1.95583 to one.
French franc
The French franc can trace its history back to the ransom of King John II of France in 1360, when the very first franc was used to protect the king's release. According to legend, the name for the French franc originates from Francorum Rex, a Latin phrase significance 'King of the Franks'.
The French franc is the first of the pre-euro currencies on this list to have actually belonged of the Latin Monetary Union (LMU), which was an early attempt to repair currency exchange rate across various European nations.
The LMU-- which existed from 1866 until 1927-- didn't seek to establish a single currency such as the euro. Rather, it looked for to peg the value of certain European currencies to each other at a time when most currency in circulation was made from gold and silver.
Following the collapse of the LMU, the franc continued as the primary currency of France till it officially embraced the euro as fiat currency in January 2002. Francs were exchanged for euros at a set rate of 6.55957 to one, with the final date for exchange being 17 February 2005.
Italian lira
The Italian lira, often described in plural kind as lire, was the pre-euro currency of Italy from 1861 until 2002. In 1861, Italy stopped to be a collection of private states and ended up being the merged Kingdom of Italy (1861 to 1946). To counter the various currencies in use at the time across Italy, the lira was introduced and ended up being the official currency of the recently unified state.
The lira was affected by inflation in the Italian economy from the 1970s till the country formally embraced the euro in 1999, at which point the production of lire banknotes and coins was halted in preparation for the release of euro-denominated notes and coins on 1 January 2002.
During this time, the lira was exchangeable at a repaired conversion rate of 1936.27 to the euro, which was kept by the Banca d'Italia (Bank of Italy) till 2012.
Spanish peseta
The Spanish peseta was the pre-euro currency of Spain from 1868 until 2002. The peseta was divided into subunits of centimos, with 100 centimos amounting to one peseta. Following the death of Spanish leader Francisco Franco in 1975, inflation started to climb up in the Spanish economy. It got to such a point in the late 1970s and early 1980s, that the centimo was withdrawn from circulation in 1983 as it had actually ended up being practically worthless.
After this time, regularly utilized peseta banknotes consisted of the 1000, 2000 and 5000 denominations. Nevertheless, the Spanish government took significant steps to suppress the effects of inflation from the early 1980s and by 1997, inflation in Spain had actually been up to around 2%.
The Spanish peseta was used together with the euro from 1999 up until 2002, with the peseta no longer being accepted as legal tender after February 2002. Unlike some other currencies on this list, the peseta will be exchangeable with the euro at a set rate of 166.386 to one indefinitely. Transactions can be completed with the Banco de España (Bank of Spain).
Dutch guilder
The Netherlands utilized the Dutch guilder (gulden) as its official currency from around 1517 until 2002. The currency was decimalised in 1817 with one guilder being consisted of 100 cents.
Unlike some of the other old European currencies on this list, which circulated together with the euro, the guilder stopped being legal tender on 28 January 2002-- a complete month prior to currencies such as the Spanish peseta and the Austrian schilling.
The guilder was transformed to the euro at a rate of 2.20371 to one, and the Nederlandsche Bank (National Central Bank of the Netherlands) will continue to exchange guilders for euros at this rate up until 1 January 2032.
Belgian franc
The Belgian franc was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from when the nation secured its independence in 1832, till the execution of the euro in 2002. The Belgian franc was partitioned into systems of 100, described as centiemen in Dutch.
In the 60 or so years before Belgium started using the euro, the franc was decreased the value of on numerous events, initially in 1944, and after that in 1946, 1949 and finally in 1982. Throughout this time, the Belgian franc likewise traded at par with the Luxembourgish franc, and each was legal tender in the other nation.
Similar to other countries on this list, the Belgian franc was utilized alongside the euro for 3 years from 1999, and it stopped being legal tender in February 2002. The Banque Nationale de Belgique (National Central Bank of Belgium) will continue to exchange Belgian franc banknotes forever, although it stopped exchanging coins in December 2004.
Austrian schilling
The Austrian schilling was the pre-euro currency utilized by Austria between 1925 and 1938, and then once again from 1945 till 2002. After Germany annexed Austria in 1938, the German Reichsmark changed the schilling at a rate of two Reichsmarks to 3 schillings. The Austrian schilling was reestablished on 30 November 1945 following the defeat of Germany in World War Two.
The Austrian schilling was divided into subunits called groschen, with 100 groschen making a schilling. Austria formally adopted the euro in 1999, though the schilling was still used together with the euro until 2002.
Double blood circulation ended on 28 February 2002, but the Österreichische Nationalbank (Austrian National Bank) continues to exchange schillings for euros at a rate of 13.7603 to one.
Irish pound
The Irish pound was initially called the Saorstát pound and it was presented in 1928, six years after the development of the Irish totally free state in 1922. After 1938, the currency ended up being widely known as the Irish pound, although it was pegged to the British pound at parity.
After 1938, the name 'Irish pound' remained in widespread use and the currency was decimalised in 1971 while maintaining parity with the British pound. This altered in 1978, when Ireland elected to sign up with the European Monetary System (EMS) but the UK did not. Within the EMS, the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) broke the peg in between the Irish pound and the British pound, with a free-float exchange rate being introduced in 1979.
This meant that the currencies fluctuated against each other according to open market conditions. When the euro was adopted by Ireland, the currency exchange rate between Irish pounds and the euro was 0.787564 to one.
Finnish markka
The Finnish markka was the official currency of Finland from 1860 till 2002. The subunit of the markka was called the penni, with 100 pennies making a markka. Finland was one of the first countries to go into the eurozone, with the euro being utilized along with the markka until 2002.
Similar to other nations who were quick to embrace the euro before 2002, this was to allow for a transitionary duration of three years throughout which the euro would be utilized for bank deals, visitors' cheques and online deals.
After the intro of euro coins and banknotes on 1 January 2002, the markka continued to be accepted as legal tender until 28 February 2002. Markka coins and notes were still exchangeable with euros at the Suomen Pankki (National Bank of Finland) until 2012, at a fixed rate of 5.94573 to one.
Portuguese escudo
The Portuguese escudo was the currency of Portugal from 1911 until 2002. The escudo changed the real at a rate of 1000 genuine to one escudo following a Republican revolution which took place in 1910. The escudo often utilized '$' to denominate escudos alongside centavos, which was the subunit of the escudo-- comparable to British pounds and cent or US dollars and cents. 675$ 00 would be $675 escudo, while 43$ 87 would be $43 escudos and 87 centavos.
Because Portugal remained neutral throughout World War Two, the escudo was valued by Nazi Germany as a foreign currency reserve which could be utilized to make purchases from Portugal and other neutral countries.
Following the war nevertheless, the escudo was plagued by inflation which efficiently made centavos useless, with the Banco de Portugal (National Bank of Portugal) choosing to print higher denominations of the escudo consisting of 500$, 1000$, 5000$ and 10,000$. When Portugal joined the eurozone in 1999, the conversion rate of escudo to euros was set at 200$ 482 to one. Similar to other currencies on this list, there was a shift duration of three years until 2002, throughout which the escudo and euro were utilized alongside each other in Portugal.
Pre-euro currencies summed up
Numerous nations in Europe had their own special pre-euro currency
The euro was embraced in 1999 by many EU member states at the time
While it was used in online transactions and in between banks, euro banknotes and coins were not released up until 1 January 2002
After euro banknotes and coins were introduced, different durations of double flow were in effect to enable the pre-euro currencies to be efficiently phased out
Not all EU member states currently use the euro as their main currency, although the majority of are obliged to adopt the euro once they fulfill certain requirements
Real-time News
