Euro - a currency with a worldwide reputation

The euro is a currency that has emerged, by the standards of history, not so long ago, but already dictates the climate in the world economy on a par with the US dollar, yen and other "giants" of the international currency market.

Prerequisites for creation

When in the sixth century BC the first coins appeared, the ancient Greek city-states immediately began to conclude alliances so that in the territory of any of these cities they could use all the money they had issued.

The most famous attempt to universalize the monetary system was the Hanseatic League, which existed in the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. It included from 70 to 170 states at different times. In 1379, a monetary union appeared, which provided for the coinage of coins of a uniform pattern, which were adopted in the main Hanseatic cities.

In 1865, Italy, France, Switzerland and Belgium created the Latin monetary union, which is considered the prototype of the euro system. After the Napoleonic wars, the monetary systems in these countries practically did not differ in any way. Weight, material, sample and denomination, identical for all coins of the countries of the Union, were set, and the metric French monetary system was taken as a basis.

History of appearance

The currency "euro" appeared relatively recently. In 1999, the first non-cash money came into use, and in 2002 cash coins and banknotes were issued. The name of the banknote is derived from the word "Europe", since it is the generally accepted currency of the European Union.

Appearance

All banknotes have a single standard design. On the front side there are various photos of bridges, windows and gates. This symbolizes the relationship and openness. Euro - currency of different denominations, which easily differs in color: it can be purple, yellow, green, blue, red, gray.

But the coins are more original: they have the same front only, and the drawing on the back depends on the country in which it was made.

Economic Characteristics

To date, the euro is a currency of global importance, which ranks second in state reserves, second only to the US dollar. This is very logical, because the total gross product of the EU countries is greater than that of the US, which used to be traditionally in the first place.

The fact that the euro is the currency that is officially used in all EU countries is, from one point of view, its strength and, on the other, a weakening factor. It turns out that the value of this monetary unit is based on the level of development of economies of different countries, but this is also its main disadvantage - because the differences in the degree of development of European countries are very significant. Obviously, France, Germany and Italy are much stronger than, for example, Greece or Ireland. Therefore, the value of the euro often fluctuates and requires substantial support from the stronger and richer EU countries.

Euro in Russia

In the Russian market, European money is most often used as a substitute for the US dollar. Currency exchange euros on rubles occurs at the rate: about forty rubles for one euro.

In just 11-12 years, this currency has managed to develop very well and gain worldwide popularity. If the rate increases, then the demand for the euro is always steadily rising. There is also a surge in demand for this currency during the holiday season.

As for bank deposits, last year the interest rate in euro was from 1.5 to 4.5 percent per annum. On credit, you can take from thousands of euros with an interest rate of 11-15% per annum.