Egyptian pound
The Egyptian pound is the currency of Egypt. It is divided into ersh, or 1,000 milliemes; the Egyptian pound is abbreviated as LE or L. E. which stands for livre égyptienne. E£ and £E are used on the internet; the name Genēh is derived from the Guinea coin, which had the same value of 100 piastres at the end of the 19th century. In 1834, a khedival decree was issued, adopting an Egyptian currency based on a bimetallic standard on the basis of the Maria Theresa thaler, a popular trade coin in the region; the Egyptian pound, known as the geneih, was introduced, replacing the Egyptian piastre as the chief unit of currency. The piastre continued to circulate as 1⁄100 of a pound, with the piastre subdivided into 40 para. In 1885, the para ceased to be issued, the piastre was divided into tenths; these tenths were renamed milliemes in 1916. The legal exchange rates were fixed by force of law for important foreign currencies which became acceptable in the settlement of internal transactions; this led to Egypt using a de facto gold standard between 1885 and 1914, with E£1 = 7.4375 grams pure gold.
At the outbreak of World War I, the Egyptian pound was pegged to the British pound sterling at EG£0.975 per GB£1. Egypt remained part of the Sterling Area until 1962, when Egypt devalued and switched to a peg to the United States dollar, at a rate of EG£1 = US$2.3. This peg; the pound was itself devalued in 1978 to a peg of 1 pound. The pound floated in 1989. However, until 2001, the float was managed by the Central Bank of Egypt and foreign exchange controls were in effect; the Central Bank of Egypt voted to end the managed-float regime and allowed the pound to float on 3 November 2016. The official rate fell twofold; the Egyptian pound was used in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan between 1899 and 1956, Cyrenaica when it was under British occupation and an independent emirate between 1942 and 1951. The National Bank of Egypt issued banknotes for the first time on 3 April 1899; the Central Bank of Egypt and the National Bank of Egypt were unified into the Central Bank of Egypt in 1961. Several unofficial popular names are used to refer to different values of Egyptian currency.
These include nekla for 2 milliemes, ta'rifa for 5 milliemes, shelen for 5 piastres, bariza for 10 piastres, reyal for 20 piastres. Since the piastre and millieme are no longer legal tender, the smallest denomination minted being the 25-piastre coin, these terms have fallen into disuse and survive as curios. A few have survived to refer to pounds: bariza now refers to a ten-pound note and reyal can be used in reference to a 20-pound note. Different sums of EGP have special nicknames, for example: 1 EGP Bolbol meaning nightingale or Gondi meaning soldier, 1,000 EGP baku "pack". Between 1837 and 1900, copper 1 and 5 para*, silver 10 and 20 para, 1, 5, 10 and 20 piastre, gold 5, 10 and 20 piastre and 1 pound coins were introduced, with gold 50 piastre coins following in 1839. Copper 10 para coins were introduced in 1853. Copper 10 para coins were again introduced in 1862, followed by copper 4 para and 21⁄2 piastre coins in 1863. Gold 25 piastre coins were introduced in 1867. In 1885, a new coinage was introduced consisting of bronze 1⁄4, 1⁄2, 1, 2 and 5 millieme, silver 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 piastre coins.
The gold coinage ceased, with only small numbers of 5 and 10 piastre coins issued. In 1916 and 1917, a new base metal coinage was introduced consisting of bronze 1⁄2 millieme and holed, cupro-nickel 1, 2, 5 and 10 millieme coins. Silver 2, 5, 10 and 20 piastre coins continued to be issued, a gold 1 pound coin was reintroduced. Between 1922 and 1923, the gold coinage was extended to include 20 and 50 piastre and 1 and 5 pound coins. In 1924, bronze replaced cupro-nickel in the 1 millieme coin and the holes were removed from the other cupro-nickel coins. In 1938, bronze 5 and 10 millieme coins were introduced, followed in 1944 by silver, hexagonal 2 piastre coins. Between 1954 and 1956, a new coinage was introduced, consisting of aluminium-bronze 1, 5 and 10 millieme and silver 5, 10 and 20 piastre coins, with the size of the silver coinage reduced. An aluminium-bronze 2 millieme coin was introduced in 1962. In 1967 the silver coinage was abandoned and cupro-nickel 5 and 10 piastre coins were introduced.
Aluminium replaced aluminium-bronze in the 1, 5 and 10 millieme coins in 1972, followed by brass in the 5 and 10 millieme coins in 1973. Aluminium-bronze 2 piastre and cupro-nickel 20 piastre coins were introduced in 1980, followed by aluminium-bronze 1 and 5 piastre coins in 1984. In 1992, brass 5 and 10 piastre coins were introduced, followed by holed, cupro-nickel 25 piastre coins in 1993; the size of 5 piastre coins was reduced in 2004, 10 and 25 piastre coins - in 2008. On June 1, 2006, 50 piastre and 1 pound coins dated 2005 were introduced, its equivalent banknotes were phased out and disappeared from circulation in 2010; the coins bear the face of Cleo
Indonesian rupiah
The rupiah is the official currency of Indonesia. Issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia, the ISO 4217 currency code for the Indonesian rupiah is IDR; the name "Rupiah" is derived from the Sanskrit word for rupyakam. Informally, Indonesians use the word "perak" in referring to rupiah; the rupiah is subdivided into 100 sen, although inflation has rendered all coins and banknotes denominated in sen obsolete. Introduced in 1946 by Indonesian nationalists fighting for independence, the currency replaced a version of the Netherlands Indies gulden, introduced during the Japanese occupation in World War II. In its early years the rupiah was used in conjunction with other currencies, including a new version of the gulden introduced by the Dutch; the Riau islands and the Indonesian half of New Guinea had their own variants of the rupiah in the past, but these were subsumed into the national rupiah in 1964 and 1971 respectively. The current rupiah consists of coins from 50 rupiah up to 1000 rupiah and banknotes of 1000 rupiah up to 100,000 rupiah.
With US$1 worth 14,356 rupiah, the largest Indonesian banknote is therefore worth US$6.97. There are presently two series of coins in circulation: aluminium and nickel coins dated between 1991 and 2010; these come in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 rupiah. The older series of coins has been disappearing. Due to the low value and general shortage of small denomination coins, it is common to have amounts rounded up or to receive sweets in lieu of the last few rupiah of change in supermarkets and stores.. A new series of coins featuring Indonesia's national heroes were issued in 2016 in denominations of 100 -, 200-, 500 and 1000 rupiah. Circulating Indonesian banknotes date from 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011; the 1998–1999 notes have not been legal tender since 31 December 2008. Earlier notes are no longer legal tender, due to the lack of security features and association with the Suharto regime, but could be exchanged in Bank Indonesia offices until 20 August 2010; as the smallest current note is worth US$0.08 small transactions such as bus fares are conducted with notes, the 1,000-rupiah coin is far more common than the 1,000-rupiah note.
The government announced that this would change, with a 2,000-rupiah note to replace the 1,000-rupiah, with that denomination replaced by a coin. After a long delay, this proposal was revised so that the 2,000-rupiah banknotes were launched by BI on 9 July 2009, with the banknotes circulating as legal tender from 10 July 2009, but without withdrawing the 1,000-rupiah note. Due to the low value of the notes below 1000 rupiah, although they are no longer being circulated, some remain in use in poor condition, as low denomination'uang pasar', outside the banking system for use in informal transactions. Following the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 31 of 5 September 2016, Bank Indonesia introduced seven new banknote designs featuring national heroes: The basic materials of the banknotes are long fibres from any kind of wood, or a mix of different types of wood. However, the preferable material is abacá fibre, plentiful in Indonesia and is believed to increase the durability of the banknotes.
The banknotes are heat-processed to create a unique type of pulp. The minimum security features visible to the naked eye are watermarks and security threads with colour fibres. Extra features may be included, such as holograms, iridescent stripes, clear windows, metameric windows and gold patches. Watermark and electrotype are made by controlling the gap of density of the fibres which create certain images for the banknotes; this is done to raise the aesthetic quality of the notes. Security threads are inserted into the note so that horizontal and vertical lines are shown from top to bottom; the threads can be varied in the materials, size and design. Intaglio printing is used for the denomination numbers in the banknote, to help blind people recognise genuine notes and their denomination; the 10,000-rupiah note of 2010 and the 20,000-, 50,000- and 100,000-rupiah notes of 2011 introduced several new security features: use of EURion constellation rings, rainbow printing designed to change colour when viewed from different angles, tactile features for blind people and those with visual difficulties to recognise the different denominations of the notes.
During colonial times, the currency used in what is now Indonesia was the Netherlands Indies gulden. The country was invaded in 1942 by Japan, which began printing its own version of the gulden, which remained in use until March 1946; the Netherlands authorities and the Indonesian nationalists, who were fighting for independence, both introduced rival currencies in 1946 with the Dutch printing a new gulden, the Indonesians issuing the first version of the rupiah on 3 October 1946. Between 1946 and 1950 a large number of currencies circulated in Indonesia, with the Japanese gulden still remaining prevalent alongside the two new currencies and various local variants; this situation ended when the federal government, now in complete control following the Dutch recognition of its independence, initiated
Danish krone
The krone is the official currency of Denmark and the Faroe Islands, introduced on 1 January 1875. Both the ISO code "DKK" and currency sign "kr." are in common use. The currency is sometimes referred to as the Danish crown in English, since krone means crown. Krone coins have been minted in Denmark since the 17th century. One krone is subdivided into 100 øre, the name øre deriving from Latin aureus meaning "gold coin", or more plausibly from Latin as, pl aeres, meaning "bronze coin", from aes, aeris, "bronze". Altogether there are eleven denominations of the krone, with the smallest being the 50 øre coin, valued at one half of a krone. There were more øre coins, but those were discontinued due to inflation; the krone is pegged to the euro via the European Union's exchange rate mechanism. Adoption of the euro is favoured by some of the major political parties, however a 2000 referendum on joining the Eurozone was defeated with 53.2% voting to maintain the krone and 46.8% voting to join the Eurozone.
The oldest known Danish coin is a penny struck AD 825–840, but the earliest systematic minting produced the so-called korsmønter or "cross coins" minted by Harald Bluetooth in the late 10th century. Organised minting in Denmark was introduced on a larger scale by Canute the Great in the 1020s. Lund, now in Sweden, was the principal minting place and one of Denmark's most important cities in the Middle Ages, but coins were minted in Roskilde, Odense, Aalborg, Århus, Ribe, Ørbæk and Hedeby. For 1,000 years, Danish kings – with a few exceptions – have issued coins with their name, monogram and/or portrait. Taxes were sometimes imposed via the coinage, e.g. by the compulsory substitution of coins handed in by new coins handed out with a lower silver content. Danish coinage was based on the Carolingian silver standard. Periodically, the metal value of the minted coins was reduced, thus did not correspond to the face value of the coins; this was done to generate income for the monarch and/or the state.
As a result of the debasement, the public started to lose trust in the respective coins. Danish currency was overhauled several times in attempts to restore public trust in the coins, in issued paper money. In 1619 a new currency was introduced in the krone. One krone had the value of 1 1/2 Danish Rigsdaler Species accounting for 96 Kroneskillinger for 144 common Skillings; until the late 18th century, the krone was a denomination equal to 8 mark, a subunit of the Danish rigsdaler. A new krone was introduced as the currency of Denmark in January 1875, it replaced the rigsdaler at a rate of 2 kroner. This placed the krone on the gold standard at a rate of 2480 kroner; the latter part of the 18th century and much of the 19th century saw expanding economic activity and thus a need for means of payment that were easier to handle than coins. Banknotes were used instead of coins; the introduction of the new krone was a result of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which came into effect in 1873 and lasted until World War I.
The parties to the union were the three Scandinavian countries, where the name was krone in Denmark and Norway and krona in Sweden, a word which in all three languages means crown. The three currencies were on the gold standard, with the krone/krona defined as 1⁄2480 of a kilogram of pure gold; the Scandinavian Monetary Union came to an end in 1914. Denmark and Norway all decided to keep the names of their respective and now separate currencies. Denmark returned to the gold standard in 1924 but left it permanently in 1931. Between 1940 and 1945, the krone was tied to the German Reichsmark. Following the end of the German occupation, a rate of 24 kroner to the British pound was introduced, reduced to 19.34 in August the same year. Within the Bretton Woods System, Denmark devalued its currency with the pound in 1949 to a rate of 6.91 to the dollar. A further devaluation in 1967 resulted in rates of 7.5 kroner. In 2014, it was decided to stop printing of the Krone in Denmark, but the work would be outsourced, on 20 December 2016, the last notes were printed by the National Bank.
Denmark has not introduced the euro, following a rejection by referendum in 2000, but the Danish krone is pegged to the euro in ERM II, the EU's exchange rate mechanism. Denmark borders one eurozone member and one EU member, obliged to join the euro in the future; the Faroe Islands uses a localized, non-independent version of the Danish krone, known as the Faroese króna pegged with the Danish krone at par, using the Danish coin series, but have their own series of distinct banknotes, first being issued in the 1950s and modernized in the 1970s and the 2000s. Greenland adopted the Act on Banknotes in Greenland in 2006 with a view to introducing separate Greenlandic banknotes; the Act entered into force on 1 June 2007. In the autumn of 2010, a new Greenlandic government indicated that it did not wish to introduce separate Greenlandic banknotes and Danmarks Nationalbank ceased the project to develop a Greenlandic series. Still, Greenland continues to use Danish kroner as sole official currency. Greenland under the colonial administration issued distinct banknotes between 1803 and 1968, together with co
Hungarian forint
The forint is the currency of Hungary. It was divided into 100 fillér, but fillér coins are no longer in circulation; the introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step in the post-World War II stabilisation of the Hungarian economy, the currency remained stable until the 1980s. Transition to a market economy in the early 1990s adversely affected the value of the forint. Since 2001, inflation is in single digits, the forint has been declared convertible; as a member of the European Union, the long-term aim of the Hungarian government may be to replace the forint with the euro, but that does not appear to be until some time during the 2020s. The forint's name comes from the city of Florence, where gold coins called fiorino d'oro were minted from 1252. In Hungary, florentinus a gold-based currency, was used from 1325 under Charles Robert and several other countries followed its example. Between 1868 and 1892 the forint was the name used in Hungarian for the currency of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, known in German as the gulden or florin.
It was subdivided into 100 krajczár. The forint was reintroduced on 1 August 1946, after the pengő was rendered worthless by massive hyperinflation in 1945–46: the highest recorded; the process was managed by the Hungarian Communist Party. The forint's success was exploited for political gains, contributing to the Communists' takeover of complete power in 1948–49; the forint replaced the pengő at the rate of 1 forint = 4×1029 pengő—dropping 29 zeroes from the old currency. In fact, this was an imaginary exchange rate. With the highest value note being 100 million B. pengő, the total amount of pengő in circulation had a value of less than 0.1 fillér. Of more significance was the exchange rate to the adópengő of 1 forint = 200 million adópengő; the forint was subdivided into 100 fillér, although fillér coins have been rendered useless by inflation and have not been in circulation since 1999. The Hungarian abbreviation for forint is Ft, written after the number with a space between; the name fillér, the subdivision of all Hungarian currencies since 1925, comes from the German word Heller.
The abbreviation for the fillér was f written after the number with a space in between. In 1946, a USD was worth 11.7 forints. After its 1946 introduction, the forint remained stable for the following two decades, but started to lose its purchasing power as the state-socialist economic system lost its competitiveness during the 1970s and 1980s. After the democratic change of 1989–90, the forint saw yearly inflation figures of about 35% for three years, but significant market economy reforms helped stabilize it. In 1946, coins were introduced in denominations of 10, 20 fillérs and 1, 2, 5 forints; the silver 5 forint coin was reissued only in the next year. 5 and 50 fillérs coins were issued in 1948. In 1967, a 5 forint coin was reintroduced, followed by a 10 forint in 1971 and 20 forint in 1982. In 1992, a new series of coins was introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 forint. Production of the 2 and 5 fillér coins ceased in 1992, with all fillér coins withdrawn from circulation by 1999.
From 1996, a bicolor 100 forint coin was minted to replace the 1992 version, since the latter was considered too big and ugly, could be mistaken for the 20 forint coin. Silver 200 forint coins were withdrawn in 1998. For cash purchases, the total price is now rounded to the nearest 5 forint. A new 200 forint coin made of base metal alloy was introduced in place of the 200 forint bank note on 15 June 2009. In 1946, 10- and 100-forint notes were introduced by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank. A new series of higher quality banknotes were introduced in 1947 and 1948. 50-forint notes were added in 1953, 500-forint notes were introduced in 1970, followed by 1,000 forints in 1983, 5,000 forints in 1991. A redesigned new series of banknotes in denominations of 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 forints was introduced between 1997 and 2001; each banknote depicts a famous Hungarian leader or politician on the obverse and a place or event related to him on the reverse. All of the banknotes are watermarked, contain an embedded vertical security strip and are suitable for visually impaired people.
The 1,000 forints and higher denominations are protected by an interwoven holographic security strip. The notes share the common size of 154 mm × 70 mm; the banknotes are printed by the Hungarian Banknote Printing Corp. in Budapest on paper manufactured by the Diósgyőr Papermill in Miskolc. Commemorative banknotes have been issued recently: 1,000- and 2,000-forint notes to commemorate the millennium and a 500-forint note to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1956 revolution. Forgery of forint banknotes is not significant. However, forged 20,000-forint notes printed on the paper of 2,000-forint notes after dissolving the original ink might come up and are not easy to recognize. Another denomination preferred by counterfeiters was the 1,000-forint note until improved security features were added in 2006. Banknotes that were in c
Renminbi
The renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The yuan is the basic unit of the renminbi, but is used to refer to the Chinese currency especially in international contexts where "Chinese yuan" is used to refer to the renminbi; the distinction between the terms renminbi and yuan is similar to that between sterling and pound, which refer to the British currency and its primary unit. One yuan is subdivided into 10 jiao, a jiao in turn is subdivided into 10 fen; the renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of the monetary authority of China. Until 2005, the value of the renminbi was pegged to the US dollar; as China pursued its transition from central planning to a market economy, increased its participation in foreign trade, the renminbi was devalued to increase the competitiveness of Chinese industry. It has been claimed that the renminbi's official exchange rate was undervalued by as much as 37.5% against its purchasing power parity. More however, appreciation actions by the Chinese government, as well as quantitative easing measures taken by the American Federal Reserve and other major central banks, have caused the renminbi to be within as little as 8% of its equilibrium value by the second half of 2012.
Since 2006, the renminbi exchange rate has been allowed to float in a narrow margin around a fixed base rate determined with reference to a basket of world currencies. The Chinese government has announced that it will increase the flexibility of the exchange rate; as a result of the rapid internationalization of the renminbi, it became the world's 8th most traded currency in 2013, 5th by 2015. On 1 October 2016, the RMB became the first emerging market currency to be included in the IMF's special drawing rights basket, the basket of currencies used by the IMF; the ISO code for renminbi is CNY, or CNH when traded in off-shore markets such as Hong Kong. The currency is abbreviated RMB, or indicated by the yuan sign ¥; the latter may be written CN¥ to distinguish it from other currencies with the same symbol. In Chinese texts the currency may be indicated with the Chinese character for the yuan, 圆; the renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Macau. However, Renminbi is accepted in Hong Kong and Macau, are exchanged in the two territories, with banks in Hong Kong allowing people to maintain accounts in RMB and withdraw RMB banknotes from ATM terminals.
In 1889, the yuan was equated at par with the Mexican peso, a silver coin deriving from the Spanish dollar which circulated in southeast Asia since the 17th century due to Spanish presence in the Philippines and Guam. It was subdivided into 1000 cash, 100 cents or fen, 10 jiao, it replaced. The sycees were denominated in tael; the yuan was valued at 0.72 tael. Banknotes were issued in yuan denominations from the 1890s by several local and private banks, along with the Imperial Bank of China and the "Hu Pu Bank", established by the Imperial government. During the Imperial period, banknotes were issued in denominations of 1, 2 and 5 jiao, 1, 2, 5, 10, 50 and 100 yuan, although notes below 1 yuan were uncommon; the earliest issues were silver coins produced at the Guangdong mint, known in the West at the time as Canton, transliterated as Kwangtung, in denominations of 5 cents, 1, 2 and 5 jiao and 1 yuan. Other regional mints were opened in the 1890s producing similar silver coins along with copper coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 cash.
Other regional mints were opened in the 1890s. The central government began issuing its own coins in the yuan currency system in 1903. Banknotes were issued in yuan denominations from the 1890s by several local and private banks, along with banks established by the Imperial government; the central government began issuing its own coins in the yuan currency system in 1903. These were brass 1 cash, copper 2, 5, 10 and 20 cash, silver 1, 2 and 5 jiao and 1 yuan. After the revolution, although the designs changed, the sizes and metals used in the coinage remained unchanged until the 1930s. From 1936, the central government issued 1⁄2 yuan coins. Aluminium 1 and 5 fen pieces were issued in 1940. A variety of currencies circulated in China during the Republic of China era, most of which were denominated in the unit yuán; each was distinguished by a currency name, such as the fabi, the "gold yuan", the "silver yuan". The renminbi was introduced by the People's Bank of China in December 1948, about a year before the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
It was issued only in paper money form at first, replaced the various currencies circulating in the areas controlled by the Communists. One of the first tasks of the new government was to end the hyperinflation that had plagued China in the final years of the Kuomintang era; that achieved, a revaluation occurred in 1955 at the rate of 1 new yuan = 10,000 old yuan. As the Communist Party of China took control of larger territories in the latter part of the Chinese Civil War, its People's Bank of China began in 1948 to issue a unified currency for use in Communist-controlle
Euro
The euro is the official currency of 19 of the 28 member states of the European Union. This group of states is known as the eurozone or euro area, counts about 343 million citizens as of 2019; the euro is the second largest and second most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar. The euro is subdivided into 100 cents; the currency is used by the institutions of the European Union, by four European microstates that are not EU members, as well as unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo. Outside Europe, a number of special territories of EU members use the euro as their currency. Additionally, 240 million people worldwide as of 2018 use currencies pegged to the euro; the euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. As of August 2018, with more than €1.2 trillion in circulation, the euro has one of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U.
S. dollar. The name euro was adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid; the euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit at a ratio of 1:1. Physical euro coins and banknotes entered into circulation on 1 January 2002, making it the day-to-day operating currency of its original members, by March 2002 it had replaced the former currencies. While the euro dropped subsequently to US$0.83 within two years, it has traded above the U. S. dollar since the end of 2002, peaking at US$1.60 on 18 July 2008. In late 2009, the euro became immersed in the European sovereign-debt crisis, which led to the creation of the European Financial Stability Facility as well as other reforms aimed at stabilising and strengthening the currency; the euro is managed and administered by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank and the Eurosystem. As an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy; the Eurosystem participates in the printing and distribution of notes and coins in all member states, the operation of the eurozone payment systems.
The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary convergence criteria, although not all states have done so. The United Kingdom and Denmark negotiated exemptions, while Sweden turned down the euro in a 2003 referendum, has circumvented the obligation to adopt the euro by not meeting the monetary and budgetary requirements. All nations that have joined the EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro in due course. Since 1 January 2002, the national central banks and the ECB have issued euro banknotes on a joint basis. Euro banknotes do not show. Eurosystem NCBs are required to accept euro banknotes put into circulation by other Eurosystem members and these banknotes are not repatriated; the ECB issues 8% of the total value of banknotes issued by the Eurosystem. In practice, the ECB's banknotes are put into circulation by the NCBs, thereby incurring matching liabilities vis-à-vis the ECB; these liabilities carry interest at the main refinancing rate of the ECB.
The other 92% of euro banknotes are issued by the NCBs in proportion to their respective shares of the ECB capital key, calculated using national share of European Union population and national share of EU GDP weighted. The euro is divided into 100 cents. In Community legislative acts the plural forms of euro and cent are spelled without the s, notwithstanding normal English usage. Otherwise, normal English plurals are sometimes used, with many local variations such as centime in France. All circulating coins have a common side showing the denomination or value, a map in the background. Due to the linguistic plurality in the European Union, the Latin alphabet version of euro is used and Arabic numerals. For the denominations except the 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, the map only showed the 15 member states which were members when the euro was introduced. Beginning in 2007 or 2008 the old map is being replaced by a map of Europe showing countries outside the Union like Norway, Belarus, Russia or Turkey.
The 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, keep their old design, showing a geographical map of Europe with the 15 member states of 2002 raised somewhat above the rest of the map. All common sides were designed by Luc Luycx; the coins have a national side showing an image chosen by the country that issued the coin. Euro coins from any member state may be used in any nation that has adopted the euro; the coins are issued in denominations of €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, 1c. To avoid the use of the two smallest coins, some cash transactions are rounded to the nearest five cents in the Netherlands and Ireland and in Finland; this practice is discouraged by the Commission, as is the practice of certain shops of refusing to accept high-value euro notes. Commemorative coins with €2 face value have been issued with changes to the design of the national side of the coin; these include both issued coins, such as the €2 commemorative coin for the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, nationally i
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