The first phase of the switchover of national
currencies to the
euro in the
euro zone in which the
man on the street actually got in touch with "hardware" euros began between
December 14, 2001 and
December 17, 2001, depending on the country. At this point, so called "starter kits" of
euro coins were released in order to allow people to get acquainted with their new money over christmas and prepare them for the final switchover that will begin on
January 1, 2002 (when all shops, etc. start to accept the euro for payment) and end on
February 28, 2002 (when everyone but the national banks will stop accepting the local currencies).
The starter kits were different in each country, since in most countries, people got them in exchange for a round amount of the "old" currency. In Germany, the starter kits contain EUR 10.23, equal to DM 20. The release of the starter kits was a big feat of logistics, since nearly everyone wanted one, and quickly. It was expected that some people would want to hoard them as collector's items, so they were designed to be plain - just a small, see-though plastic bag with the coins in it. Additionally, the places that released them (banks in most countries) often gave each customer only one or two. After all, it's just meant to allow people to get used to the coins, they don't really need them, since the national currencies will still be accepted for two months.