While the controversy continues to rage in Britain over whether or when we should abandon our sterling currency and fall into line with our European partners, On New Year’s Day 12 of the 15 EC countries abandoned their pesetas, escudos, lire, francs, Deutschemarks and kroner and replaced them with the Euro, the coins and notes with identical weights and specifications as well as standardised motifs.

A sop to national sentiment, however, is the retention of distinctive reverses on the coins, but the intention is that Dutch, Belgian, Italian and Spanish versions of the coins will be equally valid in everyday transactions throughout the European Community – or at least those countries that have signed up for the single currency.

The obverses of the coins, designed by Belgian sculptor Luc Luyxc, were relatively simple, with three variations on the theme of an outline map of western Europe with 12 five-pointed stars in two groups of six joined by diagonal lines. One design was used for the bronze 1, 2 and 5 cents, a second for the brass 10, 20 and 50 cents and the third for the bimetallic 1 and 2 Euro. In each case the most prominent feature was the numerals of value. In the 1 Euro the centre was silver-coloured with a gold-coloured outer rim, whereas in the 2 Euro the alloys were reversed. The only other notable feature is to be found on the 20c which has a notched rim to make it more distinctive from the 10c and the 50c and help the blind and partially sighted.

The banknotes were designed by the Austrian graphic artist Robert Kalina and come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Euro. Both sides have a strong thematic appeal, the fronts depicting windows of various styles and the backs showing bridges, ranging from a Roman viaduct to an ultra-modern cantilevered structure. The notes bear the initials of the European Central Bank according to all the languages and scripts of the member countries. In 1998 Germany released a 110pf stamp showing the initials EZB (Europaische Zentralbank) formed by a montage of the notes.

So far, the only other country to issue a stamp showing the ECB notes is San Marino which, by virtue of the fact that Italy has joined the single currency, will also be using Euro from now on. On October 18 it released a 2400 lire stamp reproducing no fewer than seven obsolete notes from EC countries, together with the obverse of the 100 Euro note. For the record, the obsolete notes are (from left to right) the Italian 50,000 lire featuring Benvenuto Cellini, the 50 drachma note of Greece depicting the numph Arethusa, the 100 scudo note of Portugal portraying Manoel Maria Barbosa du Bocage, the Austrian 20 schilling note showing Moritz-Michael Daffinger, Spain’s 1000 peseta depicting Hernan Cortes, the Dutch 10 gulden symbolising technology and the German 5 mark portraying Bettina von Arnim.

For the collector of coins and currency on stamps, philatelic publicity for the Euro is providing a bonanza. Several countries have issued stamps already to publicise the changeover. As far back as 1998, for example, Italy issued a stamp showing the cogwheels of machinery embellished with the E symbol and the reverses of the Italian Euro coins, and the Euro symbol was also the recurring motif for the stamp released later the same year to publicise the Italia ’98 Stamp Show.

Ireland contributed a 30p/38c stamp showing the obverse of the bimetallic Euro coin and this was also the theme of the 80c stamp released by the Netherlands in 1999. Previously France issued a stamp on January 1, 1999 showing the Euro symbol, a lower-case epsilon (Greek ‘e’) with two horizontal strokes through it. This stamp was denominated 3 francs and 0.46E, the first stamp from any country to be inscribed in the dual currency. On June 25, 2001 France released a circular stamp in the same double denominations, showing the obverse of the 1 Euro with the caption DEMAIN L’EURO (Tomorrow the Euro). The background, in various shades of blue, has a recurring motif of numbers derived from the forthcoming banknotes.

While all 12 countries have coins with a standard obverse, it has been left to each of them to choose reverse motifs so that their individuality is retained. France has taken the reverse of its 1 Euro as the motif for the First Day cancellation, showing a tree with a hexagonal shape surrounded by the motto of the French Revolution; ‘Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite’. In addition to a prestamped envelope with the Euro stamp, France has produced two sets of five cards and envelopes with this stamp and various cartoons in the side panels showing a humorous approach to the new currency. France has really pushed the boat out on this one, with a Document Philatelique and Notice Premier Jour as well as FDCs and a die proof.

The 1200 Lire stamp issued by San Marino on October 18, has a similar approach to the 2400 Lire stamp previously mentioned, with a spread of obsolete European coins alongside the obverse of the new Euro. From left to right the coins are San Marino’s 1000 Lire of 2001 (both obverse and reverse), the 10 markkaa of Finland, 1996 the 2 Deutschemark of Germany, 1995, the 100 lire of Italy, 1989, the 50 pesetas of Spain , 1998, the Irish 20p of 1996, Spain’s 25 pesetas of 1998 and the French 20 francs of 1993. The First Day cancellation shows the obverse of a San Marino coin of 1975 alongside the obverse of the Euro with the caption ‘addio lira’ (farewell lira).

The most sumptuous tribute to the new coinage comes from Austria which issued a E3.27 stamp on 21 December, in sheets of four. The design, by Hannes Margreiter, shows a Euro coin against a map of the EC and the twelve stars. It has been printed in a combination of recess and photogravure, with the stars embossed in metal foil. This is an expensive item, but well worth lashing out on a complete sheet.

Luxembourg is the only country to go the whole hog with a set of six stamps whose face value is matched to the coin depicted on each. Thus the 0.05E shows the obverse of the bronze 5 cent, the 0.10E the brass 10 cent and so on up to the bimetallic 2 Euro on the 2E stamp, a background of European stars on a blue ground being common to the series.

Apart from the French FD postmark, the only country so far to depict the reverse of one of the new coins is Greece which was the twelfth country to sign up for the single currency, In May 2001 it celebrated the centenary of its Post Office Savings Bank with two stamps, one of which depicted the reverse of the 2 Euro coin. This shows the abduction of the nymph Europa by Zeus disguised as a bull, a singularly appropriate subject for the currency whose name is ultimately derived from her.

Don’t overlook the fact that there are dependent states which will also be changing over to the Euro. San Marino has already struck distinctive coins in the new currency, and the Vatican and Monaco will follow suit. In addition, however, the stamps used in Andorra, both French and Spanish post offices, will be denominated in Euro, as will the stamps of the Aland Islands which use Finnish currency. Aland’s contribution to the theme yields one of the few examples of humour in what is otherwise a deadly serious business. A stamp designed by Kurt Simons shows a housewife with a huge glowing Euro in her shopping trolley.

It should be noted that those French overseas territories which use the currency of the mother country have also been drawn into the Euro zone. This provides another – and highly unusual – example of humour, from French Southern and Antarctic Territory whose stamp shows a pair of penguins examining what appears to be a new-laid egg but which, in fact, is a Euro!