I'm a simple emigrant and I'll tell you what is depicted on euro banknotes

After the introduction in 2002, many called the currency Teuro, as a blend of the words "expensive" and "euro", because people thought that salaries at that time were recalculated fairly, but for prices they simply slapped on a new symbol, doubling them in an instant. But this is only an internal problem of one country; globally, what to depict on pan-European money? The question turned out not so trivial. Countries wanted to preserve their identity, even with a universal currency. Therefore they agreed that coins would be identical on one side, and on the other – each country would choose the design itself. In Germany they made three prints: the Federal Eagle, the Brandenburg Gate, and an oak branch. And making unique banknotes was not allowed. All because we can eyeball what money looks like, and memorizing banknotes of seven denominations for twenty countries would be difficult. Yet a paradise for counterfeiters. Fakes would flood the market, and configuring ATMs, cash registers and other equipment for all kinds of banknotes would be very and very expensive. For coins, though, they didn't worry, because counterfeiting them is harder and duller. You sit there writhing for three nights, and in the end the maximum is 2 euros. Also the EU wanted to avoid the psychological division of banknotes. The whole point of the euro was value equivalence. But banknotes with national symbols could undermine this system. People would stash away on a rainy day conditional German euros bearing Goethe's image, and try to get rid of banknotes with symbols of countries with weaker economies. Therefore only a single design guaranteed that 50 euros in banks in Berlin, Paris or Rome would be absolutely the same. But what then to depict on the common currency, so that no one would be offended? Right, nothing. More precisely, nothing that exists. On each banknote they drew a composite image of some style of European history (details in the comments), but not a single element existed in reality. Until recently, when in 2011 Dutch designer Robin Stam, with a good sense of humor, took and built all seven fictional bridges with euros in the small city of Spijkenisse. In my opinion it's funny, but I wouldn't be surprised if the European Commission forced to tear down all these bridges. I hope they aren't reading me, or I wouldn't want to give them an idea. And do you have favorite banknotes? #money #history