Anecdotes of the new currency.
The introduction of a new element in many people's daily routines generated multiple anecdotes:
• A man was arrested in Kosovo when he tried to pay for his purchases with a 300€ bill. There is no such denomination.
• Some people grew concerned when they realized that the new bills would lose part of their color if vigorously rubbed with a cotton cloth. This is part of their security features.
• Seven defective 100€ bills were detected in Finland. This could multiply their value 1,000 times for collection purposes.
• An Italian retiree in Rome tried to use his pension check (600€) to pay for a cappuccino that he found "very affordable." The transition from high-denomination prices to lower ones is especially confusing.
• The German chocolate maker Haribo is raising the price of its chocolate bars, as a result of the price rounding out, but it is promising to make them larger. "Le Figaro" rounded out prices down and now sells for 1€, a price drop of 7%.
• McDonald's is coming up with a Euro-burger, a hamburger that will cost 1 Euro. It is not clear it will be worth 1 Euro.