hey guys welcome back to foreign reacts today we're going to be checking out a
video with a very interesting title it's titled secrets to the euro
I don't understand how the Euro can have any secrets you know you got the uh dollars a lot
of countries actually use the dollars but not the USD dollars right uh I'm not really I know
the pounds uh pounds or pound pound pounds a pound I know that one as well but um being here
in Europe I've actually you know have me some euros as well very small money actually very
you know unlike the American you know money that is pretty long yours are pretty fat and
um you know like short but um yeah we're gonna get right into this video so thank you for watching
first of all please do like and subscribe if you have any recommendations feel free to leave those
in the comment section down below let's find out what are the secrets of the Euro prior to
2002 most European countries have their own independent currencies France at the French
franc Italy had the Italian lira and Finland had the Finnish Market to name just a few it may trade
and travel a lot more complicated as you needed to change your money for each different country often
incurring exchange rates commissions and fees what's more there was often vast disparity between
the values of each currency whilst the Italian lira banknote stretched all the way up to 500
000 the highest denomination French franc was only 500 so if you were visiting one from the other it
would be very difficult to gauge how much you're actually spending in practice it was a nightmare
the case for a shared common currency I mean the dang sure sounds like a nightmare 500 000 in a
bill that's crazy was therefore an obvious one and it was an idea that had been talked about and was
being worked towards for decades without getting into the precise history the Euro as we know it
was first introduced for non-cash transactions on New Year's Day 1999 and then the first banknotes
and coins on New Year's Day 2002 the only countries that did not adopt the currency were
Denmark and the United Kingdom although there are several other EU countries who don't yet to meet
the economic criteria but will make the change once they do and since those first banknotes were
launched in 2002 they've just finished releasing so you got to immediate a economic criteria to
actually use the euro that is actually um good crazy at the same time but I guess the reason why
you want to have an economical criteria is because you don't want certain countries to drag the the
currency down and that's very much possible if you don't have a criteria so yeah I get that in a new
and updated series which this video is going to 100. now I'm not gonna get back I've never seen
a 200 euro before where's my wallet I don't even know where that is at but um 200 Euros oh let me
let me see some 200 Euros there's no way that I actually exist 200 euro oh it actually does exist
it should be crazy oh my goodness that is actually crazy that that actually exists wow I had no idea
man I had no idea wow 10 20 of the pros and cons of the currency or any of the economic arguments
or considerations instead I'm going to approach the Euro purely as a banknote collector as someone
who likes shiny and colorful objects with the cool story not as a Critic of the currency itself if
you enjoyed this video please subscribe now normally I'd go through and talk about each
banknote individually but with the Euro it makes much more sense to talk about them collectively
these new notes are known as the Europa series and they are very much a series with each denomination
just a slight variant on the overall design like the previous series the notes have retained their
size color and the theme of European architecture the front of each denomination displays a window
or Doorway to represent openness incorporation whilst the reverse depicts a bridge symbolizing
communication the five euro sees a classical architecture style the 10 Romanesque the 20 Gothic
the 50 Renaissance the 100 Baroque and the 219th Century iron and glass theme the old 500 note
had the theme of modern 20th century architecture although has been discontinued and is slowly being
wait so you're telling me I could actually get my hands on a 500 euro bro yo man I'm actually losing
my mind right now because I didn't even know there was a 200 and then you're trying to tell
me that there was a 500 as well that is actually still available but it's been discontinued that
is actually insane that is insanity like I had no idea like I do know that the American uh currency
actually was higher as well it wasn't maxed out at a hundred if I'm correct I think it's maxed out
at 100 there are other currents not currencies but other you know number and whatever uh like
money monetary paper value coin value right but I think it caps out at a hundred but you
can get other versions of it if I'm not mistaken that is actually crazy because I've never seen
a bloody 200 before I don't even know if I've ever had a hundred Euro before like I know the 50 it's
very common 20 and 5 and 10. from circulation importantly though none of the specific doorways
windows or Bridges shown are real they're fictional designs intended to represent
each of the original members but without unfairly representing one more than the other also like the
previous series the reverse of each note features a map of Europe although this time including
Malta and Cyprus who have both since joined the Eurozone as well as a tiny section right in the
bottom left to show the Canary Islands and some of France's territories but that's about it for the
similarities so what exactly has changed well the denomination in the bottom left has been replaced
by one in green color changing ink making it difficult to replicate and on the 100 and 200
notes it even contains tiny Euro symbols there's also a larger holographic strip on the right this
time containing an image of Europa a figure from Greek mythology after whom the continent was named
Europa can also be seen in the watermark of each note alongside the denominator nation and piece
of architecture although admittedly it does kind of resemble a kid's drawing in terms of
other security features both series are fairly similar obviously they all featured the Orion
constellation a group of five circles or Donuts which can be detected by printers and computer
software in order to prevent photocopying this feature was included on banknotes in secret for
many years until a member of the public first detected it on a 10-year row note hence the
name and the fact that it sort of doesn't really resemble Orion under UV light certain elements of
the note's glow to indicate their authenticity including the stars in the flag and the Stars
around the architecture as well as certain sections of the reverse tiny glowing flecks
are also visible something they purposely add into the paper again to show their authenticity but the
new notes have added another really cool security feature in the form of these short diagonal lines
on the edges of each note if you fold the notes round to form a circle they perfectly line up
indicating that the note is likely genuine as counterfeiters can have difficulty being so
precise with their Printing and these notes have introduced a micro print too seen in the stars
in the middle of the note if you look extremely closely you'll see the word Euro repeating in
three different alphabets again something that counterfeiters cannot achieve with inexpensive
printers and what is probably my favorite hidden feature each note is secretly a flag of Europe in
Disguise how cool is that however having said all that you'd be right to accuse these notes of being
boring they're deliberately plain and avoid of any personality Europe is an exceptionally diverse
continent with the finest architecture on the planet and yet they've opted for fictional designs
but I do understand it these banknotes are used to 10 ever increasing number of countries and they
can't be seen to favor certain ones and where the banknotes fall short the coins certainly deliver
the euro coins are arguably the coolest and most collectible in the world each country has their
own designs and they can therefore be much more personal the Coliseum features on the Italian
five cents so you're actually trying to tell me that each country in the there is no way that's
actually pretty cool I got me some news over here man I got the coins I don't know where my world is
I don't know where my wallet is at but I got the coins right here see I got
me a little two Euro right here boy come here man come here come here man come on
now don't do me like that camera come on yeah buddy whoa there we go there we go
I'm literally a coin collector like right now in America I have a you know like container
with coins there because I collect coins like I literally don't use them I just collect them and
um yeah you never know you know what I mean so yeah I collect them like the quarters are like
my favorites to collect because you know yeah whatever for example and the Brandenburg gate
on the German 10 and even some countries that aren't EU members have their own coins such as
San Marino and Vatican City in total there are more than 300 different designs across
the different values and countries making them an absolute dream for collectors they most certainly
make up for the lack of variation on the banknotes wow but if that's still not enough there are some
Euro banknotes at a decidedly more interesting this is a zero Euro a souvenir note printed on
real banknote paper with real security features and authorized by the European Central Bank it
has a watermark glows under UV light and feels and looks exactly as you'd expect the real Euro to and
whilst this one features the atomium in Brussels like the coins there are literally hundreds of
different designs so whilst the Euros themselves might be slightly dull that's necessary they're
the second most traded currency in the world and represents such a vast population area and though
they might have sacrificed some infinitely more interesting notes in the process we got
some pretty cool coins out of it and the Euro has undoubtedly made life a lot easier easier
okay that was an intense video and I learned a lot that I did not even no right like okay off the
off the rip like um the three things that stuck out to me stood out to me were the fact that one
the bloody uh coins are different in the European countries and you have a a hundred and a 200 and
you got all those little hidden stuff on the the paper note like what the freak Show man yo that's
incredible that's impressive and then you have a bloody zero what do you mean what is that supposed
to do buy me a house like that would be cool bro like what anyhow but um y'all can let me know what
y'all think about this um video it was really very informative for sure I learned a lot but
um yeah thank you guys for watching I appreciate that I'm out of here until next time peace