What actually happened was that on Jan 1st 1999, the Franc, the Mark, the Lira and the other nine currencies all ceased to exist in any real sense. At that point, the exchange rates to the Euro were fixed. All financial dealings in these currencies became dealings in the Euro. Euros were only converted to the old national currencies when you wanted physical coins and notes in your pocket. All the fuss in the news over the last few days was, in some ways, deceptive. The 12 countries have been using the Euro for three years now. The only difference this year is that notes and coins have been issued.

"The first rule of Perl club is you do not talk about Perl club."
-- Chip Salzenberg