European currency analysis

Introduction

There are basically to major currencies operating within the Euro-zone; the British Sterling pound and the Euro. The Euro came into use after the formation of the European Union (E.U) and was adopted as legal tender by all member countries except Great Britain. All the other nations discarded use of their own currencies in favor of the Euro.

The euro

This is the official currency which is used by 17 members of the European Union which is made up of 27 countries but the ten countries do not use it like their official currency even though it’s still used within them.

The Euro-zone

Belgium,Finland,Germany,Italy,Portugal,Slovenia,Spain,Netherlands,Austria,Estonia,Greece,Cyprus,France,Ireland,Slovakia and Luxembourg. European Institutions also use this currency whose sign is (€) and is coded (EUR). The 17 countries where it is the official currency are referred to as the Euro-zone and the zones economy is the second in largeness in the world, the currency is the second most  used currency after the U.S dollar and it is also the second mostly held reserve currency in the world reserves. It is managed by the European central bank (ECB) which is based in Frankfurt, Germany, the  use of this currency has led to integration of the European countries  financially, socially and economically and sometimes lead to even converging of prices in all the countries but this does not happen on all products.

Characteristics of the Euro

The Euro is available in both coin form and bank notes form and the coin form is available in the following figure values €2,€1,50c,2oc,10c,5c, and 1c while the bank notes form is available in €500,€200,€100,€50,€20,€10, and €5

The pound

It is the official currency of the United Kingdom made of Britain, Wales, Ireland and  Scotland her overseas territories symbolized by (£) and coded (GBP), it’s the fourth most used currency in the world after the U.S dollar ($), Euro (€) and the Japanese Yen (¥). The British sterling pound is the third most held reserve currency in the world reserves after the U.S dollar and the euro. Even though the United Kingdom states are members of the European Union they opted to have the pound as their official currency.

The pound is managed by, Bank of England, Bank of Ireland, Bank of Scotland and Royal bank of Scotland

Characteristics of the pound

The currency exists in both coin form and bank notes form in the following figure values.

Coin forms: 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p, and 1p

Bank notes form: £1000, £500, £300, £20, £100, £50, £20, £10, and £5

There are other bank notes which are referred to as titans and they have a value of £100,000,000, titans are not accessible to the general public and they are only forty of them that do exist.

Conclusion

From the above illustrations we have been able to learn and compare the euro to the pound and we have also learnt about their jurisdictions which they can be used officially and where they are not official currencies we have also seen the forms they exist in and the figure values of existence.