Goodbye to all that

The currencies the euro will replace

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Birth of a currency

THE FRENCH FRANC

For a country much attached to national symbols, France is taking the imminent death of the franc calmly. It is as if an ancient great-great uncle was about to pass away: a time for nostalgia and regret, rather than grief.

Unlike the German mark, the franc has never been a symbol of national regeneration or glory. Its recent history has been relatively stable but it had to be revalued as recently as 1960. In the 1950s, its value and reputation were so feeble French politicians considered abolishing it and replacing it with something called the "livre" i.e the pound, based on the value of sterling.

But money is money after all. It is with us every day. It is surprising that such a conservative people have not expressed greater sorrow for the loss of their familiar francs. It is also surprising they do not feel a greater sense of aesthetic loss. The franc has always been one of the world's most beautiful currencies: as redolent of France, to an outsider, as baguettes and berets and rudeness in shops.

It is customary to say the franc has existed for 641 years but this is not quite true. The name was first used in 1360, to celebrate (and help to pay for) the release of King Jean II, captured by the still poundless English. He created the "franc" or "free" to celebrate. Over the next 400 years the name came and went but was finally restored by the Revolution in 1795. From 17 February the French franc will disappear.

THE DEUTSCHMARK

Three years after the Second World War, the price of German postage stamps was denoted in billions of Reichsmarks, the few who still had jobs collected their salaries with wheelbarrows; but the real national currency was Lucky Strike cigarettes. It all changed on 20 June 1948, when soldiers of the three Western occupying powers started handing out the new money.

The history of the Deutschmark has since been transformed into a myth. It has come to symbolise Germany's Phoenix-like rise from the ashes of war. But however hard Germans try equate the D-mark with national genius, its conception, birth and rapid progress owed almost everything to foreigners.

The first coins and notes were printed and minted abroad. It was not until 1961 that the Bundesbank was allowed to print its own money on German soil.

Still, the Germans looked after their third currency in a century very well. The Bundesbank became a byword for fiscal prudence, and the German mark was gradually adopted around the world as the second most important currency of reserve. Germans' attachment to their money became almost physical.

The people who were most besotted with D-marks were East Germans. When the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989, the day trippers from the East were welcomed to the West with a present of DM100. Soon they were addicted.

THE DRACHMA

The Greek actress, Jessi Papoutsis, spoke for many compatriots when asked if she would ever feel the same about the euro as for the drachma. "No," she said, "because the drachma is something we have all grown up with."

Used in ancient Greece, where some of the world's first coins were made, the drachma is Europe's oldest currency – the name derives from the word for "handful". It has been used ever since, apart from several centuries when Ottoman coins were used. Despite a tinge of regret, Greeks by and large welcome the passing of the drachma which has been plagued by inflation.

THE ESCUDO

Despite the 90-year life span of the escudo some older people in remote rural areas of Portugal still think and talk in reals – the escudo's predecessor before the overthrow of the monarchy in 1911.

The euro will provide reminders of the royal era, the national side of the coins depicting Portugal's castles and royal seats. Many will be glad to see the back of the escudo, whose lifetime has been marked by devaluations prompted initially by the dislocations of the First World War. But even as a member of the EU's exchange rate mechanism the escudo was devalued twice.

THE BELGIAN FRANC

Pick up a selection of Belgian bank notes and you get the answer to that old conundrum: are there any famous Belgians?

Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone, René Magritte, the painter, and the architect Victor Horta all feature. As does King Albert II, a symbol of unity in a country divided between French and Dutch speakers.

The Belgian franc came into being shortly after the country won independence in 1830 but Belgians are among the most eager to bin their currency. Starter packs of euros sold out within hours.

THE LUXEMBOURG FRANC

Swapping the Luxembourg franc for the euro will cause hardly a ripple of regret for the citizens of the smallest and richest member of the eurozone.

The Grand Duchy has kept a monetary union with Belgium since 1921 which, in effect, means Luxembourg uses the Belgian franc but prints its own notes depicting the monarch, Grand Duke Henri. By contrast, the notes are barely toleratedin Belgium despite being legal tender there.

Although it derives much of its wealth from banking, Luxembourg has never seen its currency as a symbol of national identity.

THE GUILDER

The guilder has medieval origins when Dutch merchants produced their own gold (guld) version of Florentine coinage. The influence can still be seen in the abbreviation Hfl – Holland florin. But the modern guilder, with its garish orange and blue notes, did not become legal tender until 1818 at the end of the Napoleonic empire. Far from lamenting the passing of the guilder, the Dutch are proud that the Netherlands has had more influence than most on the birth of the euro. The president of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg, is Dutch and used to head the country's central bank.

THE LIRA

A wave of lira nostalgia is now sweeping Italy as citizens prepare to surrender the currency they have often derided as weak and laden with zeros. While vigorously pro-European, Italians are having pangs about the "dear old lira".

Radios have been awash with songs featuring the lira. Television has re-run films with lira-related sequences. Celebrities, including Sophia Loren have all had their say, telling soppy lira stories. Many Italians have said they will hang on to some coins and notes as a memento. One said: "It's like saying farewell to an elderly aunt, who was slightly batty."

THE MARKKA

Its EU neighbours, Denmark and Sweden, are staying out for now but Finland, keen to reinvent itself as a modern European state, is consigning the markka to the history books. The many who cherish a proud national symbol see this as a cause for regret.

Introduced in 1865, while Finland was still part of the Russian empire, the markka was freed from the value of the silver rouble and tied to gold. It was kept on as a national currency in 1917 when the Finns seized their independence as the Bolshevik revolution plunged the country's giant neighbour into chaos.

THE PESETA

Born in 1868, the Spanish peseta replaced the peso but only just survived a series of political traumas in the 20th century, including the country's civil war in the late 1930s. The currency nearly fell victim to the two warring parties when the nationalists refused to accept the republicans' coins, which were the first pesetas to be minted with non-precious metal. Conscious of such a turbulent history, most Spaniards are enthusiastic about joining the euro. Euro coins minted for Spain will depict Christopher Columbus as well as some of the country's architectural landmarks.

THE IRISH PUNT

W B Yeats chose the emblem for the first coins of post independence Ireland: he opted for the traditional Irish harp. That legacy will be retained even as the punt ceases to be legal tender, as the same harp is to feature on the side of Ireland's euro coins. Ireland gained its own money system after breaking with Britain in 1922 but the currency has never been seen as an essential symbol of sovereignty. The link with sterling was only fully broken in 1979 when Ireland joined the European Monetary System and rechristened the pound the punt. Now most Irish seem happy to cast aside punts without a backward glance.

THE SCHILLING

The Austrian schilling became the official currency in 1924, after the break up of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the collapse of the previous currency, the kroner. Under Third Reich occupation the schilling was replaced by Hitler's Reichsmark, then reinstated in 1945. It did not, however, become fully convertible until 1967. The etymology – shared with the pre-decimal British shilling – is unclear. The schilling's banknotes feature famous Austrians including Sigmund Freud and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart will be retained to grace Austria's 1 euro coins.