Q. Is the arrival of the euro any reason to panic?
A. No. Public concern has been heightened unnecessarily by business terminology, in particular the suggestion that next January, some 50 billion euro coins will be "rolled out" across Europe. This would be an alarming prospect, especially for a small flat country like Luxembourg. In reality, the coins will be issued in the traditional way, over the counters of banks, etc.
Q. Will we have more than one currency in circulation here at any time?
A. For a short transitional period, yes. From February 9th, 2002, however, only the euro will be legal tender. Blank restaurant receipts will retain their status as hard currency indefinitely. But if you're forging these after the changeover, it's important to remember to use euro amounts!
Q. Will the euro end the confusion caused for holidaymakers by those infernal local currencies they seem to have everywhere on the continent?
A. Yes. The effect should be particularly noticeable in northern Europe, where countries occur with higher frequency. In the past, no sooner had you got the hang of the Dutch "guilder" than you had to convert your money into the Belgian "walloon" and so on. It was impossible. The Italian lira will be missed though, at least by humorists.
Q. Will unscrupulous traders seek to take advantage of public confusion about the new currency?
A. Most large organisations are expected to commit themselves to a code of fair practice. Indeed, bodies as diverse as the National Maternity Hospital and the Divine Word Missionaries have already signed up, and the public is urged to shop with these where possible. Individual operators may take advantage, however. Members of the public should be particularly aware of chancers stopping them in the street late at night looking for the "bus fare home". For example, "85p" does not convert to "€1.50", whatever they suggest!
Q. But won't some businesses be badly affected?
A. Yes. So-called "pound shops" face a major dilemma. They can become "euro shops", with drastically reduced profit margins. Or they can convert to €1.27 shops, which would preserve existing margins, but would have a big promotional downside. It's a tough choice.
Q. Since all prices in euros will appear to be higher, won't this have a psychological effect on consumers?
A. Yes, possibly. A helpful comparison, however, is with temperature. We measure this in both celsius and fahrenheit, and it can be cheering to learn that the temperature is in the "eighties" (fahrenheit) rather than the "twenties" (celsius). Also, it's worth recalling that after the move to decimalisation in 1971, prices in the "new money" seemed to be lower. And remember what happened then? No? Me neither.
Q. The dollar is arguably the strongest currency in history. But didn't it start out as a European monetary unit?
A. Yes it did. In 1518, a nobleman in the Bohemian town of Joachimsthal minted silver coins popularly known as Joachimsthaler, soon shortened to thaler. By the 17th century the thaler was a unit of currency throughout central Europe. In Sweden, it became the daler. In 1720, a copper daler was equivalent in value to a silver daler, but it weighed 250 times more and could only be transported by horse and cart! The currency travelled when European settlers brought it to America, where it was eventually transformed into the modern dollar, via a complex laundering operation organised from a Chicago warehouse.
Q. Apart from the last detail, which you made up, you read all that in a book, didn't you?
A. Europe: a history, by Norman Davies.
Q. Will anything be the same again after "E-day"?
A. Yes, this: You'll be running for your bus on a wet Monday night in February, and you'll clamber aboard just in time to realise you have nothing smaller than a €20 note. After stuffing this down the "exact fare" chute, the driver will give you a change ticket, which will now also be in euros. You will fold this away carefully in an inside pocket, as you always do. But what chance is there that you'll ever get around to reclaiming the value from the Dublin Bus change-ticket office? No chance at all, that's what. The office may not even exist, for all you know.
