In a few months from now the euro will be a part of Europeans' everyday lives, but at present very few people know just what the seven new banknotes and eight coins (the coins each have one side with a design for the individual member-country) will look like.
So it is clearly advisable to take a good look at them all, especially as the experts are worried lest fraudsters try to capitalize on people's uncertainty early next year by passing counterfeit euros.
The 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500-euro notes will differ in color and size. The higher the denomination, the larger the size. The smallest, the 5-euro note, measures just 12 by 5.2 and the 500-euro note is a more spacious 16 by 8.2cm.
Windows and gateways on the obverse symbolize the European Union's openness and the outlook onto a united Europe. On the reverse, bridges stand for European cooperation. The portals, windows and bridges on the notes each belong to a specific epoch in cultural history.
The grey 5-euro note features a gateway reminiscent of the Ancient World. The red 10-euro note features a Romanesque graduated portal. A vaulted window on the blue 20-euro note symbolises the Gothic epoch, while the orange-coloured 50-euro note features the Renaissance.
The green 100-euro note stands for the Baroque era, the yellow-brown 200-euro note for the iron and glass architecture of the 19th century, while the lilac-colored 500-euro note symbolizes the transition to the 21st century with a modern glass facade.
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