The Euro is Here

Many of you may head to Europe over the Christmas/New Years holiday and why
not. If you can tolerate the cold weather, deals to Europe are fantastic.
With the New Year comes a new currency. January 1, 2002 marks the debut of
the euro, a standard currency that will be used by many European countries.
It ís important to know which countries have adopted the currency and more
importantly which ones have not.

Euro notes and coins will replace the following currencies:

Austrian schilling Belgian franc

Finnish markka French franc

German deutschmark Greek drachma

Irish punt Italian lira

Luxembourg franc Netherlands guilder

Portuguese escudo Spanish pesta

Dealing with the new currency should actually be easy for Americans in the
early going, because the value of the new currency is about the same as the
American dollar. At press time US $1 was equivalent to $1.12 euros.

Britain, Denmark and Sweden have opted to retain their currencies. Americans
traveling to these three countries will need to exchange dollars to the local
currencies then to euros if you should decide to travel to one of the 12
countries listed above.

Local banks and major retail outlets will begin issuing euro bank notes and
coins on January 1 and take national currency out of circulation. It's a
process that's expected to take two months. Beginning March 1, the euro will
be the only legal tender accepted in those countries listed above. If your
travels take you to Europe during the beginning of the conversion the old
currency will still work, but don't be surprised if the bank where you do
your currency exchange hands you euros.