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euro sign, €, symbol for the euro, the official currency of the European Union and several areas outside the EU, including Andorra, Montenegro, Kosovo, San Marino, and the U.K. sovereignty base areas of Akrotiri and Dhekélia.
Design specifications for the euro sign.
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The sign is based on the uncial Greek epsilon (ε), the first letter in the Greek word for Europe and an homage to the importance of ancient Greek civilization to the European heritage. It is bisected by two horizontal pillars that signify stability. Each of the six tips on the symbol is cut at an angle. The sign’s placement in relation to monetary values varies according to language; the icon is placed in front of the value in English but behind the value in most European languages.
The precise process for choosing the euro sign and most of the individuals involved in it remain secrets of the European Commission, along with most of the designs that were not ultimately picked. However, some facts have been made known to the public. European Commission staff first selected some 30 designs that met the institution’s threefold criteria for the symbol: that it be simple to write by hand, similar to currency symbols already in use, and strongly suggestive of Europe. Ten of these designs were chosen by a committee, then presented in a public survey for feedback. One of the two most popular designs was then selected by a pair of Commission officials: Jacques Santer, president of the European Commission, and Yves-Thibault de Silguy, commissioner in charge of economic, monetary, and financial affairs. The final choice was presented to the world from Dublin, Ireland, on December 13, 1996.
The European Commission has stated that the symbol was produced by a four-person team. However, at least two designers declared themselves to be the true originators of the emblem after its debut. One was Arthur Eisenmenger, who claimed to have created the design while serving as a graphic designer for the European Economic Community—a position in which he originated the EU flag and its “CE” symbol for consumer-goods quality control. Another claimant was Belgian graphic designer Alain Billiet, who created the image used for the EU during the 1992 World Exhibition in Sevilla and the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.
Use of the euro design began on January 1, 1999, when the euro debuted as a virtual currency in financial markets and among certain businesses. On January 1, 2002, approximately 14.5 billion physical banknotes and 50 billion coins were released in Europe, making the icon one of the continent’s most common symbols. That same day the euro’s introduction was celebrated in the financial district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany with the lighting of the Euro-Skulptur (“euro sculpture”), a replica of the euro symbol that measures 14 metres (46 feet) high and weighs 50 tons. The large electronic sign, purchased for 350,000 euros from German artist Ottmar Hörl, is owned by the Frankfurt Culture Committee.
Since the euro was already a major currency even before it was physically coined, its symbol had to be made compatible for computing as soon as possible. In 1998 the European Commission offered suggestions for the placement of the new icon on computer keyboards, including the creation of a new physical key. The euro sign was added to the international character-encoding system Unicode in May 1998 with the hex code U+20AC. On standard English-language keyboards, the symbol became a special character accessible via modifier keys (e.g., using the combinations Ctrl + Alt + 4, Ctrl + Alt + 5, or Ctrl + Alt + E). On some European keyboards, the euro sign came to replace the dollar sign. On computers with number pads, users of any keyboard can type the symbol by typing 0128 on the number pad while pressing the Alt key.
Headquarters of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
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The euro symbol holds the distinction of being the first copyrighted currency sign in the world. The design is owned by the European Commission in the name of the European Community. However, the EU Intellectual Property Office does register logos containing the euro symbol, as long as the full logos are different enough from the symbol to be easily told apart. Consequently, the emblem has appeared on countless images and items, from art installations to articles of clothing. In 2001 the foreign exchange company Travelex sued the European Commission for trademark infringement, asking for £25.5m in damages. Travelex claimed that the euro sign too closely resembled the logo that it had used since 1989 for its interpayment division. The Court of First Instance of the European Communities (renamed the General Court of the European Union in 2009) ruled against Travelex in April 2003.
Adam Volle
