History of the euro midnight on 1 January 1999, when the national currencies of participating countries (the eurozone) ceased to exist independently in that their exchange rates were locked at fixed rates against each other, effectively making them mere non-decimal subdivisions of the euro. The euro thus became the successor to the European Currency Unit (ECU). The notes and coins for the old currencies, however, continued to be used as legal tender until new notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002 (having been distributed in small amounts in the previous December). Beginning on 1 January 1999, all bonds and other forms of
Currency pair = Cable = GBP/USD. The currency pairs that do not involve USD are called "cross currency pairs", such as GBP/JPY. Pairs that involve the euro are often called "euro crosses", such as EUR/GBP. Currencies are traded in fixed contract sizes, specifically called lot sizes, or multiples thereof. The standard lot size is 100,000 units. Many retail trading firms also offer 10,000-unit (mini lot) trading accounts and a few even 1,000-unit (micro lot). The officially quoted rate is a spot price. In a trading market however, currencies are offered for sale at an offering price (the "ask price"), and traders looking