Issue date: 10 Jul, 2009
On the X Anniversary of the creation of the Euro, a souvenir sheet is issued depicting details of a Euro bank note over a blue background and of the coin issued to commemorate this anniversary.
On the 1st of January 1999 the Euro was born as the new European currency though it wasn’t until three years later, in 2002, when it was made effective. The Euro was a decisive step for European integration since it became the currency of the Euro zone countries. It is now the sole and official currency of 16 of the 27 member states of the European Union and of over some 325 million people in total. The use of the Euro in the different member countries was gradual. Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland began to use it 1999; Greece in 2001, Slovenia in 2007, Cyprus and Malta in 2008 and Slovaquia in 2009. The € symbol is inspired in the Greek epsilon (?) - a reference to the first letter of the word Europe, crossed by two parallel lines to ‘certify’ the stability of the Euro. Euro zone countries use the same designs in their banknotes, which were chosen from 44 proposals in a design competition, launched by the Council of the European Monetary Institute (EMI) in 1996 and in which the winning entry was created by Austrian born Robert Kalina. The designs have a common theme of European architecture in various artistic periods, from classic to modern XX century architecture The front of the note features windows or gateways while the back has bridges. Both sides bear the 12 stars characteristic of the European Union. Every banknote has more than 30 security features which include: The paper used which is 100% pure cotton fibre, the watermark depicting a special design observed by holding the note up to the light and the holographic band imprinted with the note's denomination. In the case of the €50 notes and higher, the band is replaced with a holographic decal. Coins have a common reverse for all countries in the Euro zone chosen by the European Commission but each country has its own design on the obverse besides the twelve stars. In Spain, the Euro replaced the peseta and the rate established was of one Euro equaling 166,386 pesetas. De esta hoja bloque se realizó una Prueba de Artista .
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.