The economic crisis that has been a companion to most of us in Europe for the past few years makes itself felt in various manners, some of which are obvious and in front of our eyes each day, other effects are not so readily visible and might just slip under the radar, so to speak.
One of the changes in daily habits which without a doubt is a direct reaction to the crisis is the way people manage their small change.
The lira was the official unit of currency in Italy until January 1, 1999, when it was replaced by the euro (euro coins and notes were not introduced until 2002). Old lira denominated currency ceased to be legal tender on February 28, 2002. The conversion rate is 1,936.27 lire to the euro.
Although Italian price displays and calculations became unwieldy because of the large number of zeros, efforts at redenomination were unsuccessful for political reasons until the introduction of the euro which had the effect of lopping off excessive zeros.
The smaller denomination eurocent coins soon became also worthless and you could buy very little with them.
As inflation gradually mounted and prices jumped many people used the euro coins and simply dropped the smaller darker coloured coins into a jar or even refused to take them as change when buying products or services.
Recently, it has been noticed that these coins are once again circulating more freely, although as can be seen from the video below a great deal of patience is needed to count out a large handful for just the price of a cup of coffee.
A small change is taking place.
