Céntimo Céntimo The céntimo (in Spanish-speaking countries) or cêntimo (in Portuguese-speaking countries) was a currency unit of Spain, Portugal and their former colonies. The word derived from the Latin meaning "hundredth part". The main Spanish currency, before the euro, was the peseta which was divided into 100 céntimos. In Portugal it was the real and later the escudo, until it was also replaced by the euro. In the European community "cent" is the official name for one hundredth of a euro. However, both "céntimo" (in Spanish) and "cêntimo" (in Portuguese) are commonly used to describe the euro cent. Céntimo or cêntimo
History of the euro 2 January, all ATMs in 7 countries and at least 90 percent in 4 others were issuing euros rather than legacy currency, with Italy, the worst offender, having only 85% of ATMs dispensing euros. The unexpected tendency of consumers to spend their legacy currency, rather than exchange it at banks, led to temporary shortages of euro small change, with some consumers being given change in legacy currency. Some businesses did take advantage of the currency exchange to raise prices. According to a study by the Deutsche Bundesbank, there was a price rise, but consumers refused to buy as much. A