European+Money

=POUND STERLING:=





 See questions below; I think this question is answered through the others on this page.
 * · What do the symbols & other visual elements on the currency say about a nation’s values? **

Britain is a constitutional monarchy. Yet only the monarchy (head of STATE) is emphasized on the money, not the prime minister or Parliament (head of GOVERNMENT). Historical persons are also important. Though the queen is pictured on every banknote and coin, various famous Britons are printed on the back of bills: £5 – Elizabeth Fry (social reformer, particularly helping reform the prison system) £10 – Charles Darwin (scientist, evolution) £20 (old) – Sir Edward Elgar (composer, late 19th/early 20th century, “Pomp & Circumstance”) £20 (new) – Adam Smith (economist, //Wealth of Nations//, capitalist) £50 – Sir John Houblon (first governor of the Bank of England)
 * · What is emphasized? Religion? Government? History? Abstract principles (like democratic symbols on Dollar)? **

British pounds are more colorful than American dollars, less colorful than the Euros. They also increase in physical size as they increase in monetary value.
 * · How is color used? Why? **

Again, the monarch who represents the state is emphasized over the parliamentary government that actually runs the state. The people featured on the back of bills demonstrate many traditional, Western, industrialized values such as scientific inquiry (Darwin), capitalism (Smith), and classical arts (Elgar).
 * · What political statements or philosophies are being articulated through symbols? **

Truthfully, a traveler might not pay any attention to the figures on the back of banknotes. The image of Queen Elizabeth II figures most prominently on the bill, and it is this royal image that the traveler would remember. Despite the fact the Queen holds no real political power anymore, Britain continues to greatly revere its monarchy. (This choice of emphasis is also easily assessed by simply asking foreigners to name people in charge of Britain - almost everyone can give you the name of the queen, but numbers drop drastically if asked to correctly name the current Prime Minister.)
 * · How might a traveler “read” the currency differently than a citizen? **

No reference to God or any religious belief, as on the US Dollar. No pictures of prime ministers, as the US pictures presidents are on bills. This could be a function of the fact that US presidents are both head of state and head of government; but I would argue that the “head of state” function is that which is emphasized on the dollar. I.e., by picturing presidents, the US tries to convey the ideals of founding fathers who are really a symbol for the country (just as the queen is an ideal of British culture and as such is really a symbol for that nation).
 * · What is conspicuously absent? Why? **

=THE EURO:=





Euro banknotes have a noticeable lack of specific symbols (such as the Eiffel tower, or the Coliseum, etc). As discussed below, the Euro really attempts to create a common currency that reflects values of all its nations; as a result, the symbols are very general. They also all depict an outline of Europe (look in the bottom right corner of the bill) - again, creating a common bond, showing the unity of all the countries.
 * · What do the symbols & other visual elements on the currency say about a nation’s values? **

Architecture is emphasized. Because the Euro is the monetary system for 16 of the 27 European Union member nations, creators likely wanted to emphasize something like architectural styles that are common to many different countries. Each bill features a historical period as follows: €5 – Classical; €10 – Romanesque; €20 – Gothic; €50 – Renaissance; €100 – Baroque and Rococo; €200 – the Age of Iron and Glass; €50 – Modern 20th Century Architecture
 * · What is emphasized? Religion? Government? History? Abstract principles (like democratic symbols on Dollar)? **

Each banknote is a different color-coded by value, as follows: €5 (grey), €10 (red), €20 (blue), €50 (orange), €100(green), €200 (yellow), €500 (purple). Thus, color functions as an organizational and visual key in the Euro. A citizen or visitor can easily pick out the needed banknote by simply glancing at color.
 * · How is color used? Why? **

**· What political statements or philosophies are being articulated through symbols? ** There are pictures of windows, bridges, and gateways on each banknote. Undoubtedly, these images could symbolize an era of openness and connectivity within the continent of Europe. With the advent of the European Union and now a European monetary system,  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">**· How might a traveler “read” the currency differently than a citizen?** Though the banknotes are the same design across Europe, the coins have one side in common and one side that varies by country. A traveler might not pick up on these differences in the coins, nor be able to determine the coin’s country of origin at a glance as a native might.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">**· What is conspicuously absent? Why?** There are no images of people on any of the bills, unlike the American dollar or the British pound. Most likely, this lack stems from a desire to create unity among the nations. Picking a specific person to picture on a banknote would elevate/emphasize one nationality above another.