Get Ready for the Euro

Germany and 11 other European nations have had a common currency, the Euro, since the beginning of 2002. All purchases and transactions in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland and Greece now must be executed in Euros.
Denmark, Sweden and Great Britain, though members of EU, have not converted.

The new currency consists of seven bills: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 Euro, and there are will be eight new coins: 1, 2, 5,10, 20, 50 Cent and 1 and 2 Euro. One Euro equals 100 cents.

If you find you have some Deutsche Mark notes or coins left over you can exchange them for Euros for an unlimited time, but only at the German Central Bank and the various state banks. Currencies of the other Euro nations can likewise be exchanged for Euros only at the central banks of the individual countries.

The value of the Euro fluctuates in terms of other currencies. At press time, the rates were as follows: €0.86 to the U.S. dollar, €1.39 to the Canadian dollar, €0.61 to the British pound sterling, €1.68 to the Australian dollar, €2.04 to the New Zealand dollar and €9.78 to the South African rand. The following list shows the value of the Euro in terms of the old currencies of the Euro block:

Exchange rates for the various currencies have been fixed at the following rates.