Hard currency - the coins
The euro coins are issued in denominations of 1,2,5,10,20, and 50 cents, 1 euro and 2 euros. The coins – 50 billion of them – have one side common to all 12 member countries and a reverse side specific to each country. The common European face of the coins represents a map of the European Union against a background of transverse lines to which are attached the stars of the European flag. The 1,2 and 5 cent coins put emphasis on Europe's place in the world while the 10, 20 and 50 present the Union as a gathering of nations. The 1 and 2 euro coins depict Europe without frontiers.

Did the euro change-over affected prices ?
In general, yes. It was common practice to 'round-up' prices to the nearest decimal and there was evidence of this happening all over. It was thought that this 'hiking' of prices would have an effect on the cost of living. However, most people didn't appear to be worried yet prices did rise overnight. The euro seems to have been accepted by the Spanish, with great success. The euro has been fantastic for other EU citizens visiting Spain (except UK residents who still use Sterling).

All vending machines had to be converted for euros and this cost millions of Euros to implement. Some machines were reported to have faults for a while. Even to this day, some companies still advertise prices for properties in pesetas, mainly for the benefit of the older generation.

What was it like to change over to Euros?

Personally, we found it rather strange. On the night of the change over, most ATM machines had run out of Euros and the banks had been issuing 'survival' bags of Euros. Each bag contained a sample of each note/coin. On the first day of the euro, some of the cafes and shops found it hard to work out the euros. You could still spend your pesetas but it was best to take them to the bank. Banks became jammed with queues of people exchanging into Euros and some banks ran out of cash. Many vending machines had not been converted in time so it paid to have a small stash of pesetas with you for parking meters etc. Some new Euro machines didn't work. It was easy to see that the cost of living had increased overnight as things were rounded up to the nearest euro. A cup of coffee for example was now 1 euro (166 pesetas). Before the change over we paid 125 pesetas for a coffee.

And what´s happened to the peseta ?
All over Spain there were special celebrations to mark the withdrawal of the national currency and monuments have been erected in its memory. The cost of destroying 33,000 tonnes of peseta coins was shared between two companies who recycled the coins into boat propellers, beer barrels and refrigeration tubing. Banknotes were pulped by the Banco de España and converted into ´briquetas´. Some elderly Spaniards still refer to pesetas, especially when dealing with property prices.