A euro is the official currency used by many countries in Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Just as Americans use dollars and cents, people in these nations buy groceries, pay for movie tickets, and save their money using euros and euro cents.

The euro launched in 1999 as a shared currency to make trade and travel easier across Europe. Before the euro, each country had its own money: France used francs, Germany used marks, and Italy used lira. Converting between all these currencies was complicated and expensive. Now, a family can drive from Portugal to Poland using the same money the whole way.

The euro symbol looks like this: €. One euro divides into 100 cents, similar to how a dollar divides into 100 cents. Euro coins show different designs depending on which country minted them, but they all work anywhere euros are accepted. Euro bills come in different colors and sizes. The larger the bill, the higher its value.

The euro is one of the world's most important currencies, second only to the US dollar in global use.