Hello - I was looking into the topic of the ECU currency; and I stumbled upon the trivia fact on Wikipedia. It stated that an ECU coin from the Netherlands was accepted as actual currency.
It was said that coins commemorating the Jubilee of the Congress of Europe were issued, but unusually were actually legal tender - a 2 ½ ECU coin could be used to buy items in retail shops in The Hague during 1989.
I looked into this information more and more and found the original pamphlet that was given to buyers of the ECU coins - in Dutch of course. I tried to transliterate and then translate it:
"TIJDELIJK BETAALMIDDEL
Uniek en zeer bijzonder - een wereldprimeur zelfs - is het, dat de ECU voor het eerst in de geschiedenis van Europa als betaal-munt zal dienen. Winkelbedrijven aangesloten bij de "Vereniging Ondernemers Haagse Binnenstad" zulten de 2½ ECU gedurende "European Festivities" van 7 fot 10 september 1989, als circulatiemunt accepteren."
"TEMPORARY PAYMENT MEDIUM
Unique and very special - a world first even - is that the ECU will serve as a payment currency for the first time in Europe's history. Retailers affiliated with the "Vereniging Ondernemers Haagse Binnenstad" Association will accept the 2½ ECU during "European Festivities" of 7 September 10, 1989, as a currency of circulation."
"GEGARANDEERDE "NOMINALE" WAARDE
De ECU is - nog - geen wettig betaalmiddel, maar een rekeneenheld welke is samengesteld the specifiekig bedragen in ieder van de valuta's van de lidstaten van de Europese Gemeenschap. Op basis van huidigie waarde-toerekening kan de ECU gesteld worden op ca ƒ 2,35."
"GUARANTEED "NOMINAL" VALUE
The ECU is not yet a legal tender, but a unit of account composed of the specific amounts in each of the currencies of the Member States of the European Community. On the basis of current value allocation, the ECU can be set at around ƒ 2.35."
So, the coin (out of 18,608 issued) could be used at retail shops affiliated with the "Ondernemers Haagse Binnenstad" association during the month of September 1989. This was from a time that people thought the ECU was going to become a functioning currency à la the Euro.
Now my question is - was this coin ever actually circulated and used in the retail stores mentioned? Did someone actually go into the store and purchase an item with the 2½ ECU coin? Who were the stores in that association?
Moreover, was it even economical to use the coin as real currency and not as a commemorative item?
Does anyone have information about how much the 2½ ECU coin cost back in 1989?
In general, were there any ECU coins from any country that circulated?
Thank you for reading this ramble of a first post on here, and I hope we'll have answers for my many questions