Euro sign

On 12 December 1996 the European Commission showed the public its design for the euro’s symbol. Its official explanation says the shape draws on the Greek epsilon, a nod to Europe’s classical past, and on the E of Europe, while the double crossbar stands for stability.

Who drew it is still argued over. The Commission said only that four experts produced it, and never named them. Arthur Eisenmenger, who had once led graphic design at the European Economic Community, claimed he had the idea 25 years before the Commission’s decision, while the Antwerp newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen gave the credit to Alain Billiet, a Belgian graphic designer.

Computers were ready before wallets were: Unicode 2.1 assigned the sign in 1998, more than three years before the first euro cash reached shops on 1 January 2002.