Presently there are sixteen European countries that have converted their national money into the single euro currency. The exchange started back in 1999, but these countries are still allowing conversion of their old national cash to euros. The European Central Bank or ECB is the authority that oversees the monetary integration of countries into the euro zone. Each country's Central bank is responsible for old cash conversions at the fixed exchange rate. Use these steps to convert old national money (pre euro) into euros, for countries in the Euro zone that have converted.
Identify the countries that replaced their old national banknotes and coins with the euro. The following are the sixteen countries that have converted their national money into euros: Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, France, Finland, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia and Italy.
Find the country's deadline for converting its pre euro money into euros. Some countries have set a time limit for conversion and others have an unlimited time frame. Deadlines can be found at the European Central Bank website or ecb.int/euro exchange or at each country's national central bank. The earliest deadlines have been set for early 2012 by Greece, France, Italy and Finland.
Identify the euro conversion rate against the old national money. This is a fixed rate that has been established by the European Central Bank. The fixed rates can be found at the ECB website and at each national central bank. For example, 1 euro equals 166.386 Spanish Pesetas, 1936.27 Italian Lire and 340.75 Greek drachmas.
Exchange the pre euro currency at the corresponding national central bank. The sixteen countries that have converted their old national money into the euro are the only ones that can still exchange their banknotes and coins into the pre established euro rate.
