World Currencies

I think one of the best ways a country can show its creativity is with its currency. This past semester I was fortunate enough to travel across Europe, and with each country I visited (that was not on the euro) I was always anticipating what the currency would look like.

Hands down, the coolest currency I got to use was the Swiss Franc. The money was so intricately designed, and was adorned in bright, neon colors. While it looked like play money, it was just so beautiful to look at and use. On the down side, it didn’t feel real, and I would find myself spending a lot of it. Like most European countries, they had several different values for their coins- which I found to be annoying. Suddenly, my wallet would be so heavy and I would have ten dollars just in coins!

Sadly for the Euro, it was my least favorite currency. I don’t think the banks of Europe did a good job in designing their bills, and certainly did not have a good engineer on staff when they made the sizing. All the bills are different sizes making it difficult for wallets (but easier for visually impaired people). They also use coins way more than us American’s do- one reason I was happy to come home.

Ultimately I miss the days when all countries had different currencies. I know that the Euro unified Europe and made traveling between countries more fluid, but I miss the excitement of seeing what each currency looked like.

Guess I’ll have to venture to Asia where each country has its own currency.