Without 1 and 2-cent coins would require rounding up or down to the nearest 5 cent. Importantly, individual prices would not be rounded, just the total bill. That same E9.99 bill would be E10.00 ...

Even if Germany gave up its two smallest coins, it would still have the 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins. Not to mention 1 and 2 euro coinsImage: Burkhard Schubert/Future Image/IMAGO.

The 20-cent planchet is considerably smaller than a Euro, so the result was a design spilling off the edge of the gold disc. A collector paid $920 for one of these in 2008. French 50 Euro cent on ...