One of the main reasons Britain is reluctant to joint the Euro is purely psychological - people attach a huge piece of their national identity to their money. To account for this, each country inside the "Eurozone" prints its own coins with country-specific iconography on the reverse side. This is a great way of preserving some degree of national identity. I have no idea if each country prints the same amount or if it depends on population.

An interesting effect of this is that when you're in a Euro country, you tend to get mostly coins from that particular country. While in France last weekend, we counted up a pile of 30 or so coins and found only two that were not French. The question is: Is it simply a matter of time before the coins distribute themselves? Or are they deliberately collected by banks and sent back to their country of origin? Or are people deliberately hoarding their national coins as a matter of pride?

Speaking of French pride, here's an interesting piece of trivia: There's a map of Europe on the reverse side of the notes which has a tiny inset in the lower left corner. Often overlooked, this section of the map features French Guyana, Martinique, Guadelupe and Reunion. Four disparate overseas territories of France which also use the Euro.