Johnny 1989 Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Sad to see Cypriot banknotes go, I have always loved their designs. I like that design but I got fed up with getting dozen's of them back, if a shop over there didn't have any five pound notes & you only had a Tenner on you for something worth £1.50 it was a pain in the ar*e. The akward look I got in one of the arcades as well when asking to change a £20 up. I asked for a £10 note, £5 note & £5's worth of 50p's (this would not normally be a problem in the UK) but she question as to why I wanted them I told them why & she gave me a £10 note, £5 note, x3 £1 Notes & £2's worth of 20p's, I still had to change up some £1 notes for 50p's anyway:angry: Alot of the time also they seemed to be reluctant to give you coins, asking you if you had any in change, considering their newest circulating ones I saw over there were 2004 perhaps they stopped the a year too early & they have shortages. It does baffle me as to why they still had £1 notes though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graikos Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Sounds a bit like Greece before the euro change. We used nearly no coins as well for the last 6 or 7 years. It even went so far that if you bought something at a supermarket and should be getting 20 or 50 Drachmes back, they just didn't bother. After the euro and for some months people still continued dealing with coins like that. Needless to say that it stung when they realized that a 2 euro coin is worth about 600 or 700 Drachmes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmoney Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 One wonders that Cyprus will be another country along with Italy that wants a €1 note? Habits die hard. I saw this in China, in Beijing and Nanchang coins were the rule, up to 1 Yuan, but then in Guangzhou, they did not like coins apparently and everybody was using paper money with values as low as 1 Fen, or 1/10th of a USA cent. The notes were sometimes in pretty nasty shape. I kept all the small change including paper money and I will have to take a picture of it sometime. The interesting thing in Guangzhou was that paper money dated 1980 and 1990 was still fairly common, whereas in the other cities most of the paper money was the 2005 series. 2 Jiao, 1980 series, only ever got one of these in change. This is the equivalent of 2¢ in US$ The smallest note, a 1 Fen, these are for the most part not used except very occasionally now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graikos Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 As far as I know the 1€ note talk is off the table. Greece was asking for one as well and so was Belgium, if I remember correctly. Or was it Luxenburg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmoney Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Italy has been wanting one, because of the 1000 and 2000 Lira notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 It's strange, it's seems that the alot of countries like their 1 & 2 (insert currency here) banknotes rather than coins, where on the flip side people in the UK are starting to question whether or not the £5 note should be replaced by a coin. Have to say (as I may have done above already) that I found the £1 note, although rather nice, a pain in the a*se and also, rather oddly the 20c coin, they are rather big & seemed to be the only coint they liked giving you in change, rare if you got a 50c coin, although I did come home with 7 of which 5 were different years one of my favourite world coins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graikos Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 I guess it has something to do with how the prices for everyday shopping on the market develop and how the currency evolves along that. Even though we had different coins and small notes in Greece, after devaluations of the Drachma in the 80s, the real value of coins became minimal. For the whole of the 90s we had coins that were mostly still legal (except for the 1, 2 and 5 dr which were discontinued at some point) but not used and worth absolutely nothing. Only the new 100 dr coin was really used and that mostly for cigarettes and newspapers. So for 10 years we were under the impression that notes are money and coins are pieces of metal of little worth. The most frequent values in a wallet became the 1000 and 5000 dr. Only after the last devaluation of the Drachma did they start producing 500 dr. coins. That was one year before the euro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbs Posted July 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 It's strange, it's seems that the alot of countries like their 1 & 2 (insert currency here) banknotes rather than coins, where on the flip side people in the UK are starting to question whether or not the £5 note should be replaced by a coin. Same in Germany and the €5 note (and keep in mind that €5 is even less than £5). But it seems we won't get any for the time being ... In Euroland, only the governments of Greece and Italy wanted low value (€1, €2) notes. As for Italy, well, when Berlusconi was out of office, that idea apparently was dropped too. Some time ago the Slovakian government suggested rag euros but the country is not even a member of the currency union yet. Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmoney Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 I do remember the 5 Mark notes, and they came out with a new issue ca. 1990-91. But the 5 Mark coin was as Tabbs noted, much more popular. I even found that 10 Mark silver commems were not completely uncommon in circulation, I got some in change counters, and spent them also. Only time I have ever spent silver - just for the thrill of it. In France before the Euro it was not too unusual to have 100 FF coins, at the time worth about €14 or so. They were a crown size coin, usually a commemorative - but I never spent them and only saved them as souvenirs. The older larger 50 FF coins had been demonetized after some time and were often being sold for 40FF etc. - the melt value of the coin basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Same in Germany and the €5 note (and keep in mind that €5 is even less than £5). But it seems we won't get any for the time being ... In Euroland, only the governments of Greece and Italy wanted low value (€1, €2) notes. As for Italy, well, when Berlusconi was out of office, that idea apparently was dropped too. Some time ago the Slovakian government suggested rag euros but the country is not even a member of the currency union yet. Christian Ah so the two countries who had 100's & 1000's for currency wanted them, that explains everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graikos Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Finally found it. Belgium was for a one euro note as well. At least Guy Quaden, the governor of the central bank and 53% of the Belgians. http://www.guardian.co.uk/euro/story/0,11306,865595,00.html [...]Guy Quaden, the governor of the central bank, is one of those who favour the creation of a one euro note to rival the US dollar. 53% of Belgians agree with him but far more, 78%, would like to see the abolition of the tiny copper one and two cent coins which clutter people's wallets and purses.[...] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbs Posted July 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Finally found it. Belgium was for a one euro note as well. At least Guy Quaden, the governor of the central bank and 53% of the Belgians. Well, what euro denominations we would have, which coins and which notes etc., was decided almost ten years ago (in mid-1998). That article is from late 2002, and now we have mid-2007. And while I find it fairly normal that, less than a year after the € cash became legal tender, people had not quite adapted to the new money yet, it was and would still be IMO silly to say that we need such low value notes because the USD has low value notes. Seems we do just fine without them. Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmoney Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 And while I find it fairly normal that, less than a year after the € cash became legal tender, people had not quite adapted to the new money yet, it was and would still be IMO silly to say that we need such low value notes because the USD has low value notes. Seems we do just fine without them. Christian And the USD low value notes only get lower lower lower it is becoming play money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graikos Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 I believe some countries, and Greece is definitely one of them, did not prepare themselves for the euro. I remember the mess with the new prices and new currency in Greece, while the transition was running much better here in Germany. The Greeks, and I mean the everyday consumer, had absolutely no idea what they had in their hands. That is why none of them complained in the first months when the supermarket would just not give you your 50 euro cent or your euro change. It was pure negligence by the government, the people and the banks. If you consider that when the starter kits came out, the banks were actually selling them to people for more money than what was inside (the EU had to intervene) it becomes a bit understandable. The initiative from Greece (and Italy, I think) for a 1 euro note also came after the change, or at least that is when they really started talking about it. Ah, my fellow Greek compatriots. Corrupt to the bone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbs Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Ah, my fellow Greek compatriots. Corrupt to the bone! Banks charging a fee for starter kits, that is indeed odd (to put it mildly). In other cases the problems were due to that perception you mentioned - coins being something that is basically worthless, etc. Well, we all learn from mistakes (hopefully ), and it seems that in Slovenia great emphasis was put on the fact that, contrary to the tolar coins, the euro pieces do represent some value ... Hope that the transition in the two new euro countries will be smooth. Yesterday the European Commission presented its latest preparations report ("Fifth report on the practical preparations for the future enlargement of the euro area", http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/public...m2007_434en.pdf) - these are the country specific conclusions: (CY) While Cyprus achieved progress in its practical preparations for the introduction of the euro, it should speed them up. Particular attention should be given to the effective and country-wide implementation of the Fair Pricing Code and of the communication campaign on the euro. (MT) Malta's practical preparations for the introduction of the euro are very well advanced. The country's communication activities on the euro are exceptionally comprehensive and of a very high quality. Malta should maintain the current momentum of its preparations with a view to an efficient and smooth changeover. The details can be found in the report. It also covers Slovakia (which aims at joining in 2009) and, in a brief overview, the status of the other member states. The "public opinion" part at the end is also quite interesting. Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graikos Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Nice! I wonder if Malta and Cyprus have really achieved the conditions for joining the monetary union. They wouldn't be the first countries to join by cheating their way in. If I remember correctly, Malta will join even though the country only nearly fulfills the conditions. Maybe Cyprus is using the Greek method: lie your way in. Can't wait to get my hands on their euro coins. I usually don't collect euros, but these two have some nice coin types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbs Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Well, I won't argue here about how much sense those euro convergence criteria actually make. But it's not up to a single member state to ignore them if that country wants to join the currency union ... However, some criteria are "softer" or more flexible than others. Public debt, for example, is limited to 60% of the gross domestic product (GDP) qua euro rules - in 2006 Cyprus had something like 63%, Malta 66%. But in both cases the figures have been going downward. (That was different when Lithuania was not allowed in, even though the country almost met the criteria: the inflation figures "pointed" up, and did go up afterwards.) Also, both CY and MT easily meet criteria such as budget deficit and inflation rates. Of course, if a government deliberately "cheats" in order to be allowed in, that is hard to check. But I guess that the European institutions (ECB, Commission, etc.) now try and check a little more thoroughly. And if I was cynical, I might say that a relatively small country could not do that much damage anyway. For example, I am more concerned about Sarkozy's "elastic" attitude regarding the stability criteria than about whether Malta's public debt will be 60 or 65 percent of the GDP this year ... That being said yes, I like the designs from Cyprus and Malta too. Eight would have been better than three, but what they picked is fine. Guess I would have put the Pomos Idol on the "medium" denominations and the ship on the €1+2 coins ... oh well, their business. Hope I can soon get those pieces! Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graikos Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 I share your fears about Sarkozy. This guy spooks me in general. His Europe parade on their national holiday was very peculiar to say the least. Reminded me of the... "good old days". Well, we may get lucky and the reason why they only used 3 reverse types is so they can make many many many nice special 2 € coins. There are some nice mosaics in Cyprus that I would love to see on a coin... if such a thing is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbs Posted August 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Here you can buy your very first Cyprus €2 coin. http://www.huuto.net/fi/showitem.php3?itemid=59120876 Hmmmm, the coins were/are made in Finland, and huuto.net is a Finnish auction site ... Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbs Posted December 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 And here we have somebody from Malta who just (on Sat 1 Dec) got his very first Maltese euro and cent coins. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2409/207708...53a14b7.jpg?v=0 http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2373/207787...ca622f8.jpg?v=0 (Not my pictures.) I will sure buy them, but I also hope that next year I will come across some from Cyprus and Malta in circulation ... Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 And here we have somebody from Malta who just (on Sat 1 Dec) got his very first Maltese euro and cent coins. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2409/207708...53a14b7.jpg?v=0 http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2373/207787...ca622f8.jpg?v=0 (Not my pictures.) I will sure buy them, but I also hope that next year I will come across some from Cyprus and Malta in circulation ... Christian I want Nice coins, I'll be looking out for those on ebay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbs Posted December 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 And here is somebody with a €2 coin from Cyprus in his hand. No idea why it already looks that worn ... http://www.aijaa.com/img/00100/1291501.jpg Cyprus started distributing starter kits for both retailers and the general public today (3-Dec). Malta made the kits for retailers available on 1-Dec and will start distributing the kits for individuals on 10-Dec. So I suppose it will take a few more days until we can get those pieces. Or, if you don't need/want them as Christmas presents, wait until after New Year's Day. They should be much more easily available then. Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 And here is somebody with a €2 coin from Cyprus in his hand. No idea why it already looks that worn ... http://www.aijaa.com/img/00100/1291501.jpg Cyprus started distributing starter kits for both retailers and the general public today (3-Dec). Malta made the kits for retailers available on 1-Dec and will start distributing the kits for individuals on 10-Dec. So I suppose it will take a few more days until we can get those pieces. Or, if you don't need/want them as Christmas presents, wait until after New Year's Day. They should be much more easily available then. Christian Nice, perhaps he's been "testing" it out amongst other circulated coisn to see how they wear. Shame they didn't used the obverse design from the outgoign coins on one of the designs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbs Posted December 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Shame they didn't used the obverse design from the outgoign coins on one of the designs Some of the current (£) designs I like a lot, like the bird (1 cent), the "vase goats" (2 cents) and Europa with the bull (50 cents). OK, the latter is already on the Greek €2 piece, so "repeating" it may not make much sense. Otherwise - well, maybe they wanted something new. What I do find strange (and somewhat saddening from a collector's point of view) is that the new Cyprus euro coins have only three designs for eight denominations. Sure, various euro countries use that setup. But both the current Cyprus coins, and the euro coins of neighboring Greece, have an "individual" design for each denomination ... Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny 1989 Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Some of the current (£) designs I like a lot, like the bird (1 cent), the "vase goats" (2 cents) and Europa with the bull (50 cents). OK, the latter is already on the Greek €2 piece, so "repeating" it may not make much sense. Otherwise - well, maybe they wanted something new. What I do find strange (and somewhat saddening from a collector's point of view) is that the new Cyprus euro coins have only three designs for eight denominations. Sure, various euro countries use that setup. But both the current Cyprus coins, and the euro coins of neighboring Greece, have an "individual" design for each denomination ... Christian True, the 1c & 2c were great, glad I got hold of a few on the last couple of days of my holiday in Cyprus Ordered as set of the Cyprus ones off of ebay, Malta's are a bit more expenisve, will post pics once I get them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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