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Local residents last week with the coins they used in 1998.
Churriana, the euro tester

Churriana, the euro tester

Twenty years ago, the district was involved in a pilot project to try out the new currency; now a new experiment is planned

NURIA TRIGUERO

Friday, 6 July 2018, 11:42

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Everyone in Churriana remembers 1998 as the "year of the euro". For them the European currency came four years early. The pilot experiment which simulated the change from peseta to euro lasted four days and turned the neighbourhood into a place of international interest. It was the first initiative of its kind in Europe and was revolutionary for Churriana, which filled with visitors, journalists and politicians. The banks carried out 150,000 exchange operations and the shops sold more than ever before.

This year marks two decades since that experiment, which is still fondly remembered. Rare is the resident who hasn't kept a collection of the coins that were put into circulation over those four days. There were eight commemorative coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1 and 2 euros, all of which were distributed in packets of 9.51 euros (1,600 pesetas) or of 17.83 euros (3,000 pesetas). Each person was able to acquire the euro equivalent of 4,600 pesetas.

Nieves Bravo worked as a cleaner in Unicaja. She remembers the commotion at the branch and the queues of hopeful locals and visitors over those four days. "The coins ran out and soon collectors arrived, paying as much as 500 or 600 euros for the packet of 9.51 euros," recalls the Churriana resident.

Some people took photos with the politicians who visited the neighbourhood. This is the case of Carmela Álvarez, whose husband, a pharmacist, is pictured in one of the more memorable photos of the event: Rodrigo Rato, the minister of the Treasury buying flu medicine with his euros. "Fifty journalists arrived at the pharmacy. I thought it was going to fall down," she remembers.

It was the then-mayor of Malaga, Celia Villalobos, who convinced Rato that Churriana would be the ideal place to carry out the euro experiment, which took place from 30 September to 3 October 1998. The streets of were pedestrianised and were filled with residents and visitors ready to spend their test euros. The shop owners threw themselves into the experiment, hanging posters with prices in both euros and pesetas and patiently helping confused customers. They distributed currency converters and, to liven up the atmosphere even further, there was a bull run and a 'Fiesta del Euro'.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the beta launch of the euro in Churriana, the mobile payment app, Bizum, has organised another initiative in the same neighbourhood. Residents of all ages are getting involved with the experiment and introducing the app into their daily lives.

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