Coins In The Euro Area

Regarding my post about the low denomimations of coins and notes in the U.S. compared to Sweden, one reader pointed out to me that the Euro area has gone even further than Sweden in adjusting the value of its highest valued coin, which is €2, the equivalent of roughly SEK17, 1.7 times higher than the highest valed Swedish coin, the 10 kronor coin. Similarly, the lowest valued note is €5, the equivalent of roughly SEK43, 2.15 times higher than the lowest valued Swedish note, the 20 kronor note.

On the other hand, even as it has gone even further than Sweden in adjusting the lowest valued note, the Euro area is similar to the U.S., in maintaing 1 cent coins, and the 1 cent euro coins is only about 1.3 times higher valued than the U.S. one cent coin.

With a ratio of 200:1 between the value of the highest and lowest valued coins, the Euro area has a far bigger range in the value of its coins than both the U.S. (25:1) and Sweden (10:1).