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{{Short description|Currency sign}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
[[File:Euro logo plus character.png|thumb|250px|right|The euro sign; [[logotype]] and [[handwriting|handwritten]].]]
{{Redirect|€|the currency|Euro}}
{{Punctuation marks|€}}
{{Infobox currency sign

|mark=€
The '''euro sign''', in Unicode {{unichar|20AC|euro sign|html=}}, is the [[currency sign]] used for the [[euro]], the official currency of the [[Eurozone]] in the [[European Union]] (EU). The design was presented to the public by the [[European Commission]] on 12 December 1996. The international three-letter code (according to [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] standard [[ISO 4217]]) for the euro is '''EUR'''.
|currency = [[Euro]]
|unicode={{unichar|20AC|Euro sign|html=}}
|see also= {{unichar|20A0|EURO-CURRENCY SIGN|nlink=European Currency Unit|html=}} (predecessor).
}}
The '''euro sign''' ({{char|'''€'''}}) is the [[currency sign]] used for the [[euro]], the official currency of the [[eurozone]] and adopted, although not required to, by [[Kosovo]] and [[Montenegro]]. The design was presented to the public by the [[European Commission]] on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter [[E]] (or [[epsilon]]), crossed by two lines instead of one. Depending on convention in each nation, the symbol can either precede or follow the value, e.g., ''€10'' or ''10{{nbsp}}€'', often with an intervening space.


==Design==
==Design==
[[File:Euro Construction.svg|thumb|left|Official graphic construction of the euro logo.]]
[[File:Euro Construction.svg|thumb|right|Graphic construction of the euro logo]]
[[File:Moreeurofonts.svg|thumb|right|The euro sign in a selection of [[typeface]]s]]
[[File:Euro logo plus character.png|thumb|right|The euro sign; [[logotype]] and [[handwriting|handwritten]]]]
There were originally 30 proposed designs for a symbol for Europe's new common currency; the Commission short-listed these to ten candidates. These ten were put to a public survey. The [[President of the European Commission]] at the time ([[Jacques Santer]]) and the European Commissioner with responsibility for the euro ([[Yves-Thibault de Silguy]]) then chose the winning design.<ref>{{cite web |title=The euro, our currency {{!}} A symbol for the European currency |date=18 March 2009 |access-date=8 April 2023 |publisher=European Commission |url=https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/events/2009/theeuro/isola3_en2008-2009.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408212632/https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/events/2009/theeuro/isola3_en2008-2009.pdf |archive-date=8 April 2023}}</ref> The other designs that were considered are not available for the public to view, nor is any information regarding the designers available for public query. The Commission considers the process of designing to have been internal and keeps these records secret. The eventual winner was a design created by a team of four experts whose identities have not been revealed. ''[[Gazet van Antwerpen]]'' has attributed the symbol to Belgian graphic designer Alain Billiet.<ref>{{cite news |title=Belg Alain Billiet ontwierp het euroteken |trans-title=The Belgian Alain Billet designed the euro sign |date=10 October 2001 |newspaper=[[Gazet van Antwerpen]] |url=http://asp.gva.be/dossiers/-e/euroinvoer/euro43.asp |access-date=24 September 2011 |language=nl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401103459/http://asp.gva.be/dossiers/-e/euroinvoer/euro43.asp |archive-date=1 April 2012}}</ref>


{{blockquote|The symbol € is based on the Greek letter epsilon (Є), with the first letter in the word "Europe" and with 2 parallel lines signifying stability.||title=|source=[[European Union]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The Euro – Design |url=https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/euro/design_en |website=European Union |publisher=European Commission |access-date=28 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326065705/https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/euro/design_en |archive-date=26 March 2023}}</ref>}}
The euro currency sign was designed to be similar in structure to the old sign for the [[European Currency Unit]], ₠. There were originally thirty proposals, these were reduced to ten candidates. These ten were put to a public survey. After the survey had narrowed the original ten proposals down to two, it was up to the [[European Commission]] to choose the final design. The other designs that were considered are not available for the public to view, nor is any information regarding the designers available for public query. The European Commission considers the process of designing to have been internal and keeps these records secret. The eventual winner was a design created by a team of four experts whose identities have not been revealed. It is assumed that the [[Belgians|Belgian]] [[graphic designer]] Alain Billiet was the winner and thus the designer of the euro sign.<ref>{{cite news |title=Belg Alain Billiet ontwierp het euroteken |trans_title=The Belgian Alain Billet designed the euro sign |date=10 October 2001 |newspaper=[[Gazet van Antwerpen]] |url=http://asp.gva.be/dossiers/-e/euroinvoer/euro43.asp |accessdate=24 September 2011}} {{nl icon}}</ref>


The official story of the design history of the euro sign is disputed by [[Arthur Eisenmenger]], a former chief graphic designer for the [[European Economic Community]], who says he had the idea 25 years before the Commission's decision.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4325292-102275,00.html |title=Observer &#124; Inventor who coined euro sign fights for recognition |work= [[The Observer]] |date=23 December 2001 |access-date=21 August 2009 |location=London |first=Kate |last=Connolly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223212419/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4325292-102275,00.html |archive-date=23 December 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{{cquote|Inspiration for the € symbol itself came from the [[Epsilon|Greek epsilon]] (Є)<ref group=note>In the quotation, the [[epsilon]] is actually represented with the Cyrillic capital letter Ukrainian ye ([[Є]], [[Unicode|U+]]0404) instead of the technically more appropriate Greek lunate epsilon symbol ('''ϵ''', U+03F5).</ref> – a reference to the cradle of European civilization – and the first letter of the word Europe, crossed by two parallel lines to ‘certify’ the stability of the euro.|4=[[European Commission]]<ref name="ec.europa.eu">{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/cash/symbol/index_en.htm |title=European Commission – Economic and Financial Affairs – How to use the euro name and symbol |publisher=Ec.europa.eu |date= |accessdate=7 April 2010}}</ref>}}


The Commission specified a euro logo with exact proportions and colours ([[Pantone Matching System|PMS]] Yellow foreground, PMS Reflex Blue background<ref name="ec.europa.eu">{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/cash/symbol/index_en.htm |title=European Commission – Economic and Financial Affairs – How to use the euro name and symbol |publisher=Ec.europa.eu |access-date=7 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529042108/http://ec.europa.eu:80/economy_finance/euro/cash/symbol/index_en.htm|archive-date=29 May 2010}}</ref>), for use in public-relations material related to the euro introduction. While the Commission intended the logo to be a prescribed [[glyph]] shape, type designers made it clear that they intended instead to adapt the design to be consistent with the [[typeface]]s to which it was to be added.<ref>{{cite web |title=Typographers discuss the euro |url=https://www.evertype.com/standards/euro/eurotypo.html |website=Evertype |access-date=28 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222002244/https://www.evertype.com/standards/euro/eurotypo.html |archive-date=22 February 2023 |date=December 1996}}</ref>
The official story of the design history of the euro sign is disputed by [[Arthur Eisenmenger]], a former chief graphic designer for the [[European Economic Community]], who claims he had the idea prior to the European Commission.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4325292-102275,00.html |title=Observer &#124; Inventor who coined euro sign fights for recognition |publisher=Observer.guardian.co.uk |date= 23 December 2001|accessdate=21 August 2009 | location=London | first=Kate | last=Connolly}}</ref>


==Use on computers and mobile phones==
The European Commission specified a euro logo with exact proportions and colours ([[Pantone Matching System|PMS]] Yellow foreground, PMS Reflex Blue background<ref name="ec.europa.eu"/>), for use in public-relations material related to the euro introduction. While the Commission intended the logo to be a prescribed [[glyph]] shape, typographers made it clear that they intended to design their own variants instead.<ref>[http://www.evertype.com/standards/euro/eurotypo.html Typographers discuss the euro], from December 1996.</ref>
Displaying and printing the euro sign using a computer depends on the [[operating system]] and national conventions. Initially, some mobile phone companies issued an interim software update for their special [[Short message service|SMS]] character set, replacing the less-frequent Japanese [[yen sign]] with the euro sign. Subsequent mobile phones have both currency signs.


The euro is represented in the [[Unicode]] [[character set]] with the character name EURO SIGN and the code position U+20AC (decimal 8364) as well as in updated versions of the traditional Latin character set encodings.{{efn|For details please see the [[Western Latin character sets (computing)]]}}{{efn|For Eastern European character set Latin 10 with the euro sign, please see [[ISO/IEC 8859-16]]}} In [[HTML]], the {{mono|&amp;euro;}} entity can also be used.
==Use on computers==
Generating the euro sign using a computer depends on the [[operating system]] and national conventions. Some mobile phone companies issued an interim software update for their special [[Short message service|SMS]] character set, replacing the less-frequent Japanese [[yen sign]] with the euro sign. Later mobile phones have both currency signs.


===History of implementation===
The euro is represented in the [[Unicode]] [[character set]] with the character name EURO SIGN and the code position U+20AC (decimal 8364) as well as in updated versions of the traditional Latin character set encodings.<ref>For details please see the [[Western Latin character sets (computing)]]</ref><ref>For Eastern European character set Latin 10 with the euro sign, please see [[ISO/IEC 8859-16]]</ref> In [[HTML]], the <tt>&amp;euro;</tt> entity can also be used. The HTML entity was only introduced with HTML 4.0, shortly after the introduction of the euro, and many browsers were unable to render it. The alternative was to use <tt>&amp;#128;</tt> instead, with 128 (80 [[hexadecimal]]) being the code position of the euro sign in most [[Code page#Windows (ANSI) code pages|Windows 125x encodings]].
An implicit character encoding, along with the fact that the code position of the euro sign is different in historic encoding schemes ([[code page]]s), led to many initial problems displaying the euro sign consistently in computer applications, depending on access method. While displaying the euro sign was no problem as long as only one system was used (provided an up-to-date [[Typeface|font]] with the proper [[glyph]] was available), mixed setups often produced errors. Initially, Apple, Microsoft and Unix systems each chose a different code point to represent a euro symbol: thus a user of one system might have seen a euro symbol whereas another would see a different symbol or nothing at all. Another problem was [[Legacy system|legacy software]] which could only handle older encodings such as pre-euro [[ISO/IEC 8851|ISO 8859-1]]. In such situations character set conversions had to be made, often introducing conversion errors such as a [[question mark]] ⟨?⟩ being displayed instead of a euro sign. With widespread adoption of [[Unicode]] and [[UTF-8]] encoding these issues rarely arise in modern computing.


===Entry methods===
[[File:Moreeurosigns.png|thumb|left|The euro sign in a selection of [[font]]s.]]
Depending on [[keyboard layout]] and the [[operating system]], the symbol can be entered as:
An implicit character encoding, along with the fact that the code position of the euro sign is different in common encoding schemes, led to many problems displaying the euro sign in computer applications. While displaying the euro sign is no problem as long as only one system is used (provided an up-to-date [[Typeface|font]] with the proper [[glyph]] is available), mixed setups often produced errors. One example is a [[Content management system]] where articles are stored in a database using a different character set than the editor's computer. Another is [[Legacy system|legacy software]] which could only handle older encodings such as [[ISO/IEC 8859-1|ISO 8859-1]] that contained no euro sign at all. In such situations, character set conversions had to be made, often introducing conversion errors such as a question mark (?) being displayed instead of a euro sign.


* {{keypress|AltGr|4}} (UK/IRL)
Care has been taken to avoid replacing an existing obsolete currency sign with the euro sign. That could create different currency signs for sender and receiver in e-mails or web sites, with confusions about business agreements as a result.
* {{keypress|AltGr|5}} (US INTL/ESP/DNK/FIN/ISL/NOR/SWE)
* {{keypress|AltGr|E}} (BEL/{{wbr}}CRO/{{wbr}}ESP/{{wbr}}FIN/{{wbr}}FRA/{{wbr}}GER/{{wbr}}ITA/{{wbr}}GRE/{{wbr}}POR/{{wbr}}CZE/{{wbr}}EST/{{wbr}}LTU/{{wbr}}SVK/{{wbr}}SWE/{{wbr}}ROS/{{wbr}}ROP/{{wbr}}TUR)
* {{keypress|AltGr|U}} (HU/PL)
* {{keypress|Ctrl|Alt|4}} (UK/IRL)
* {{keypress|Ctrl|Alt|5}} (US INTL/ESP)
* {{keypress|Ctrl|Alt|e}} in [[Microsoft Word]] in United States and more layouts
* {{keypress|Alt}}+{{keypress|0}}{{keypress|1}}{{keypress|2}}{{keypress|8}} in [[Microsoft Windows]] (depends on system locale setting){{efn|{{keypress|Alt}}+{{keypress|0}}{{keypress|1}}{{keypress|2}}{{keypress|8}} is the correct [[alt code]] for the Euro under most system locale settings. Under Cyrillic-based system locale settings (using [[Windows code page]] [[Windows-1251|1251]]), {{keypress|Alt}}+{{keypress|0}}{{keypress|1}}{{keypress|3}}{{keypress|6}} must be used. Neither will work under Japanese ([[Windows-932|932]]), Korean ([[Windows-949|949]]) or Traditional Chinese ([[Windows-950|950]]) system locale settings. 0128 works because Microsoft has assigned {{mono|0x80}} to the Euro sign in these code pages.}}
* {{keypress|Ctrl|Shift|u}} followed by {{keypress|2}}{{keypress|0}}{{keypress|a}}{{keypress|c}} in [[ChromeOS]], most [[Linux]] distros, and in other operating systems using [[Intelligent Input Bus|IBus]].
* {{keypress|Ctrl|k}} followed by {{keypress|{{=}}}}{{keypress|e}} in the [[Vim (text editor)|Vim]] text editor

On the [[macOS]] operating system, a variety of key combinations are used depending on the [[keyboard layout]], for example:


===Entry methods===
Depending on [[keyboard layout]], the symbol can be entered as:
* {{keypress|[[Alt]]}}+{{keypress|0}}{{keypress|1}}{{keypress|2}}{{keypress|8}} (keeping Alt pressed until all 4 digits have been typed on the [[numeric keypad]] only)
* {{keypress|[[AltGr]]|E}}
* {{keypress|AltGr|4}}
* {{keypress|AltGr|5}}<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.onnet.es/eurokey.pdf | title = Recommendation for the placement of the Euro sign on computer keyboards and similar information processing equipment | date = 28 November 1997 | publisher=[[European Commission]] | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060720134243/http://onnet.es/eurokey.pdf | archivedate = 20 July 2006 | format = [[PDF]]}}</ref>
On the [[Mac OS]] operating system, a variety of key combinations are used depending on the [[keyboard layout]], for example:
* {{keypress|Option|2}} in British layout
* {{keypress|Option|2}} in British layout
* {{keypress|Option|3}} in Polish layout
* {{keypress|Option|4}} in Canadian layout
* {{keypress|Option|Shift|2}} in United States layout
* {{keypress|Option|Shift|2}} in United States layout
* {{keypress|Option|Shift|5}} in Slovenian layout
* {{keypress|Option|$}} in French layout<ref>[http://support.apple.com/kb/TA26547 Mac OS: How to type the Euro glyph], ''Apple Technical Report'' TA26547 (11 September 2003).</ref>
* {{keypress|Option|$}} in French layout<ref>[http://support.apple.com/kb/TA26547 Mac OS: How to type the Euro glyph], ''Apple Technical Report'' TA26547 (11 September 2003).</ref>
* {{keypress|Option|E}} in German, Italian, Spanish and Turkish layout
The [[Compose key]] sequence for the euro sign is '''<tt>=E</tt>'''.
* {{keypress|Shift|4}} in Swedish layout
The [[Compose key]] sequence for the euro sign is {{keypress|Compose|equals}} followed by {{keypress|e}}.


==Usage==
==Typewriters==
[[Typewriter]]s are still used in many parts of the world, often recycled from businesses that have adopted desktop computers. Typewriters lacking the euro sign can imitate it by typing a capital ⟨C⟩, backspacing, and [[overstrike|overstriking]] it with the [[equals sign]] ⟨=⟩.
[[File:La2-euro.jpg|thumb|160px|left|A euro light sculpture at the [[European Central Bank]] in [[Frankfurt]].]]
Placement of the sign also varies. Partly since there are no official standards on placement,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.delidn.ec.europa.eu/en/references/references_5.htm#Q12 |title=Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Delidn.ec.europa.eu |date= |accessdate=21 August 2009}}</ref> countries have generated varying conventions or sustained those of their former currencies. For example, in Ireland and the Netherlands, where previous currency signs ([[£]] and [[Florin sign|''ƒ'']], respectively) were placed before the figure, the euro sign is universally placed in the same position.<ref>[http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/vraag/1178 Euro: valutateken voor of achter het bedrag?], [[Nederlandse Taalunie]]. Retrieved 21 December 2006.</ref> In many other countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, an amount such as €3.50 is often written as 3,50&nbsp;€ or 3€50{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} instead, largely in accordance with conventions for previous currencies and the way amounts are read aloud.


==Use==
In English-language use, like the [[dollar sign]] ($) and the [[pound sign]] (£), the euro sign is generally placed before the figure,<ref>[http://www.translationdirectory.com/article167.htm Article on linguistics: Currency units], TranslationDirectory.com. Retrieved 25 June 2008.</ref> as used by publications such as the ''[[Financial Times]]'' and ''[[The Economist]]''.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/style-guide/currencies Economist.com Research Tools: Style Guide], TranslationDirectory.com. Retrieved 16 April 2012.</ref>
{{see also|Language and the euro}}
[[File:The Europa series 50 € reverse side.png|thumb|right|Euro sign appears in the top-left corner of a [[50 euro note|€50 banknote]] ]]
[[File:La2-euro.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Euro-Skulptur|euro light sculpture]] at the [[European Central Bank]] in [[Frankfurt Rhine-Main|Frankfurt]]|alt=]]


Placement of the sign varies. Countries have generally continued the style used for their former currencies. In those countries where previous convention was to place the currency sign before the figure, the euro sign is placed in the same position (e.g., €3.50).<ref>[http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/vraag/1178 Euro: valutateken voor of achter het bedrag?], [[Nederlandse Taalunie]]. Retrieved 21 December 2006.</ref> In those countries where the amount preceded the national currency sign, the euro sign is again placed in that relative position (e.g., 3,50&nbsp;€).
No official recommendation is made with regard to the use of a [[cent sign]], and usage differs between and within member states. Sums are often expressed as decimals of the euro (for example €0.05 or €–.05 rather than 5c). The most common abbreviation is "c", but the cent sign "[[¢]]" also appears. Other abbreviations include "ct" (particularly in Germany), "cent." in Spain, "snt" (Finland) and [[Λ]] (the capital letter ''[[lambda]]'' for λεπτό, "lepto", in Greece).

The European Union's ''[[Institutions of the European Union|Interinstitutional]] [[Style Guide]]'' (for EU staff) states that the euro sign should be placed in front of the amount without any space in English, but after the amount in most other languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370303.htm#position|title=Publications Office – Interinstitutional style guide – 7.3.3. Rules for expressing monetary units|publisher=Publications Office - OP/B.3/CRI|website=publications.europa.eu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://publications.europa.eu/code/de/de-370303.htm#position|title=Amt für Veröffentlichungen – Interinstitutionelle Regeln für Veröffentlichungen – 7.3.3 Schreibregeln für Währungsbezeichnungen|website=publications.europa.eu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://publications.europa.eu/code/es/es-370303.htm#position|title=Oficina de Publicaciones — Libro de estilo interinstitucional — 7.3.3. Normas de escritura de las referencias monetarias|website=publications.europa.eu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://publications.europa.eu/code/fr/fr-370303.htm#position|title=Office des publications — Code de rédaction interinstitutionnel — 7.3.3. Règles d'écriture des références monétaires|website=publications.europa.eu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://publications.europa.eu/code/it/it-370303.htm#position|title=Ufficio delle pubblicazioni — Manuale interistituzionale di convenzioni redazionali — 7.3.3. Regole di scrittura dei riferimenti monetari|website=publications.europa.eu}}</ref>

In English the euro sign{{snd}}like the [[dollar sign]] ⟨$⟩ and the [[pound sign]] ⟨£⟩{{snd}}is usually placed before the figure, unspaced,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.translationdirectory.com/article167.htm |title=Currency units |website= Translation Directory |access-date=25 June 2008 |first=Jackie |last=Walters}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/style-guide/currencies|title= The Economist Style Guide: Currencies| newspaper= [[The Economist]]| access-date= 16 April 2012| archive-date= 13 April 2012| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120413231837/http://www.economist.com/style-guide/currencies| url-status= dead}}</ref> the reverse of usage in many other European languages. When written out, "euro" is placed after the value in lower case; the plural is used for two or more units, and euro cents are [[Decimal separator|separated with a point, not a comma]] as in many countries (e.g., ''€1.50'', ''14 euros'').

Prices of items costing less than one euro (for example ten cents) are often written using a local abbreviation like ⟨ct.⟩ (particularly in Spain and Lithuania), ⟨snt.⟩ (Finland), ⟨c.⟩ (Ireland) and ⟨[[Λ]]⟩ (the capital letter ''[[lambda]]'' for Λεπτό ''Leptó'' in Greece): (for example, 10 ct., 10c., 10Λ, 10 snt. The US style ⟨[[¢]]⟩ or ⟨￠⟩ is rarely seen in formal contexts. Alternatively, they can be written as decimals e.g. 0.07&nbsp;€.
<!---
In Standard English:
*€0.10 (amount)
*€-0.10 (negative)
*-€0.10 (discount)
-->
{{clear}}

==See also==
* {{section link|Currency symbol|List of currency symbols currently in use}}


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist|group="note"}}


==References==
==References==
Line 53: Line 89:


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Symbol of the euro}}
{{Commons category|Euro sign}}
* [http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/cash/symbol/index_en.htm Euro name and symbol], Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission
* [https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/cash/symbol/index_en.htm Euro name and symbol], Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission
* [http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication_summary6125_en.htm Communication from the Commission: The use of the Euro symbol], July 1997, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission
* [https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication_summary6125_en.htm Communication from the Commission: The use of the Euro symbol], July 1997, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission
*[http://www.starr.net/is/type/kbh.html Typing a Euro symbol on a non-European QWERTY keyboard.] Several methods are shown for &#128; and others special characters.
* [https://www.starr.net/is/type/kbh.html Typing a Euro symbol on a non-European QWERTY keyboard.] Several methods are shown for and others special characters.


{{Currency signs}}
{{Currency signs}}
Line 62: Line 98:
{{Euro topics}}
{{Euro topics}}


[[Category:Currency signs]]
[[Category:Currency symbols]]
[[Category:Economy of the European Union]]
[[Category:Euro]]
[[Category:Symbols introduced in 1996]]
[[Category:Symbols of the European Union]]
[[Category:Symbols of the European Union]]

[[da:Eurosymbol]]
[[de:Eurozeichen]]
[[fa:نماد یورو]]
[[fr:Euro (symbole)]]
[[ko:유로 기호]]
[[id:Simbol euro]]
[[it:Simbolo dell'euro]]
[[jv:Simbul euro]]
[[hu:Eurójel]]
[[nl:Euroteken]]
[[ja:ユーロ記号]]
[[pl:Euro (znak)]]
[[ru:Символ евро]]
[[simple:Euro sign]]
[[sk:Symbol eura]]
[[sl:Znak evra]]
[[tr:Euro simgesi]]
[[zh-yue:€]]

Revision as of 18:00, 20 May 2024

"€" redirects here. For the currency, see Euro.
€
Euro sign
In UnicodeU+20AC € EURO SIGN (&euro;)
Currency
CurrencyEuro
Related
See alsoU+20A0 ₠ EURO-CURRENCY SIGN (predecessor).
Category

The euro sign (€) is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and adopted, although not required to, by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by two lines instead of one. Depending on convention in each nation, the symbol can either precede or follow the value, e.g., €10 or 10 €, often with an intervening space.

Design

Graphic construction of the euro logo
The euro sign in a selection of typefaces
The euro sign; logotype and handwritten

There were originally 30 proposed designs for a symbol for Europe's new common currency; the Commission short-listed these to ten candidates. These ten were put to a public survey. The President of the European Commission at the time (Jacques Santer) and the European Commissioner with responsibility for the euro (Yves-Thibault de Silguy) then chose the winning design.[1] The other designs that were considered are not available for the public to view, nor is any information regarding the designers available for public query. The Commission considers the process of designing to have been internal and keeps these records secret. The eventual winner was a design created by a team of four experts whose identities have not been revealed. Gazet van Antwerpen has attributed the symbol to Belgian graphic designer Alain Billiet.[2]

The symbol € is based on the Greek letter epsilon (Є), with the first letter in the word "Europe" and with 2 parallel lines signifying stability.

— European Union[3]

The official story of the design history of the euro sign is disputed by Arthur Eisenmenger, a former chief graphic designer for the European Economic Community, who says he had the idea 25 years before the Commission's decision.[4]

The Commission specified a euro logo with exact proportions and colours (PMS Yellow foreground, PMS Reflex Blue background[5]), for use in public-relations material related to the euro introduction. While the Commission intended the logo to be a prescribed glyph shape, type designers made it clear that they intended instead to adapt the design to be consistent with the typefaces to which it was to be added.[6]

Use on computers and mobile phones

Displaying and printing the euro sign using a computer depends on the operating system and national conventions. Initially, some mobile phone companies issued an interim software update for their special SMS character set, replacing the less-frequent Japanese yen sign with the euro sign. Subsequent mobile phones have both currency signs.

The euro is represented in the Unicode character set with the character name EURO SIGN and the code position U+20AC (decimal 8364) as well as in updated versions of the traditional Latin character set encodings.[a][b] In HTML, the &euro; entity can also be used.

History of implementation

An implicit character encoding, along with the fact that the code position of the euro sign is different in historic encoding schemes (code pages), led to many initial problems displaying the euro sign consistently in computer applications, depending on access method. While displaying the euro sign was no problem as long as only one system was used (provided an up-to-date font with the proper glyph was available), mixed setups often produced errors. Initially, Apple, Microsoft and Unix systems each chose a different code point to represent a euro symbol: thus a user of one system might have seen a euro symbol whereas another would see a different symbol or nothing at all. Another problem was legacy software which could only handle older encodings such as pre-euro ISO 8859-1. In such situations character set conversions had to be made, often introducing conversion errors such as a question mark ⟨?⟩ being displayed instead of a euro sign. With widespread adoption of Unicode and UTF-8 encoding these issues rarely arise in modern computing.

Entry methods

Depending on keyboard layout and the operating system, the symbol can be entered as:

  • AltGr+4 (UK/IRL)
  • AltGr+5 (US INTL/ESP/DNK/FIN/ISL/NOR/SWE)
  • AltGr+E (BEL/​CRO/​ESP/​FIN/​FRA/​GER/​ITA/​GRE/​POR/​CZE/​EST/​LTU/​SVK/​SWE/​ROS/​ROP/​TUR)
  • AltGr+U (HU/PL)
  • Ctrl+Alt+4 (UK/IRL)
  • Ctrl+Alt+5 (US INTL/ESP)
  • Ctrl+Alt+e in Microsoft Word in United States and more layouts
  • Alt+0128 in Microsoft Windows (depends on system locale setting)[c]
  • Ctrl+⇧ Shift+u followed by 20ac in ChromeOS, most Linux distros, and in other operating systems using IBus.
  • Ctrl+k followed by =e in the Vim text editor

On the macOS operating system, a variety of key combinations are used depending on the keyboard layout, for example:

  • ⌥ Option+2 in British layout
  • ⌥ Option+3 in Polish layout
  • ⌥ Option+4 in Canadian layout
  • ⌥ Option+⇧ Shift+2 in United States layout
  • ⌥ Option+⇧ Shift+5 in Slovenian layout
  • ⌥ Option+$ in French layout[7]
  • ⌥ Option+E in German, Italian, Spanish and Turkish layout
  • ⇧ Shift+4 in Swedish layout

The Compose key sequence for the euro sign is Compose+= followed by e.

Typewriters

Typewriters are still used in many parts of the world, often recycled from businesses that have adopted desktop computers. Typewriters lacking the euro sign can imitate it by typing a capital ⟨C⟩, backspacing, and overstriking it with the equals sign ⟨=⟩.

Use

See also: Language and the euro
Euro sign appears in the top-left corner of a €50 banknote
A euro light sculpture at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt

Placement of the sign varies. Countries have generally continued the style used for their former currencies. In those countries where previous convention was to place the currency sign before the figure, the euro sign is placed in the same position (e.g., €3.50).[8] In those countries where the amount preceded the national currency sign, the euro sign is again placed in that relative position (e.g., 3,50 €).

The European Union's Interinstitutional Style Guide (for EU staff) states that the euro sign should be placed in front of the amount without any space in English, but after the amount in most other languages.[9][10][11][12][13]

In English the euro sign – like the dollar sign ⟨$⟩ and the pound sign ⟨£⟩ – is usually placed before the figure, unspaced,[14][15] the reverse of usage in many other European languages. When written out, "euro" is placed after the value in lower case; the plural is used for two or more units, and euro cents are separated with a point, not a comma as in many countries (e.g., €1.50, 14 euros).

Prices of items costing less than one euro (for example ten cents) are often written using a local abbreviation like ⟨ct.⟩ (particularly in Spain and Lithuania), ⟨snt.⟩ (Finland), ⟨c.⟩ (Ireland) and ⟨Λ⟩ (the capital letter lambda for Λεπτό Leptó in Greece): (for example, 10 ct., 10c., 10Λ, 10 snt. The US style ⟨¢⟩ or ⟨￠⟩ is rarely seen in formal contexts. Alternatively, they can be written as decimals e.g. 0.07 €.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ For details please see the Western Latin character sets (computing)
  2. ^ For Eastern European character set Latin 10 with the euro sign, please see ISO/IEC 8859-16
  3. ^ Alt+0128 is the correct alt code for the Euro under most system locale settings. Under Cyrillic-based system locale settings (using Windows code page 1251), Alt+0136 must be used. Neither will work under Japanese (932), Korean (949) or Traditional Chinese (950) system locale settings. 0128 works because Microsoft has assigned 0x80 to the Euro sign in these code pages.

References

  1. ^ "The euro, our currency | A symbol for the European currency" (PDF). European Commission. 18 March 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Belg Alain Billiet ontwierp het euroteken" [The Belgian Alain Billet designed the euro sign]. Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 10 October 2001. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  3. ^ "The Euro – Design". European Union. European Commission. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  4. ^ Connolly, Kate (23 December 2001). "Observer | Inventor who coined euro sign fights for recognition". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
  5. ^ "European Commission – Economic and Financial Affairs – How to use the euro name and symbol". Ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  6. ^ "Typographers discuss the euro". Evertype. December 1996. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  7. ^ Mac OS: How to type the Euro glyph, Apple Technical Report TA26547 (11 September 2003).
  8. ^ Euro: valutateken voor of achter het bedrag?, Nederlandse Taalunie. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
  9. ^ "Publications Office – Interinstitutional style guide – 7.3.3. Rules for expressing monetary units". publications.europa.eu. Publications Office - OP/B.3/CRI.
  10. ^ "Amt für Veröffentlichungen – Interinstitutionelle Regeln für Veröffentlichungen – 7.3.3 Schreibregeln für Währungsbezeichnungen". publications.europa.eu.
  11. ^ "Oficina de Publicaciones — Libro de estilo interinstitucional — 7.3.3. Normas de escritura de las referencias monetarias". publications.europa.eu.
  12. ^ "Office des publications — Code de rédaction interinstitutionnel — 7.3.3. Règles d'écriture des références monétaires". publications.europa.eu.
  13. ^ "Ufficio delle pubblicazioni — Manuale interistituzionale di convenzioni redazionali — 7.3.3. Regole di scrittura dei riferimenti monetari". publications.europa.eu.
  14. ^ Walters, Jackie. "Currency units". Translation Directory. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  15. ^ "The Economist Style Guide: Currencies". The Economist. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
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