Reserve currency economy, the German Deutsche Mark gained the status of the second most important reserve currency after the US dollar. When the euro was introduced on 1 January 1999, replacing the Mark, French franc and ten other European currencies, it inherited the status of a major reserve currency from the Mark. Since then, its contribution to official reserves has risen continually as banks seek to diversify their reserves, and trade in the eurozone continues to expand. Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in September 2007 that the euro could replace the U.S. dollar as the world's primary reserve currency.
Denomination (currency) Denomination (currency) Denomination is a proper description of a currency amount, usually for coins or banknotes. Denominations may also be used with other means of payment like gift cards. For example, "five euros" is the denomination of a five euro note. In a currency, there is usually a main unit (base), and a subunit that is a fraction of the main unit. In some countries, there are multiple levels of subunits. In the former Ottoman Empire, 1 lira = 100 kuruş = 4000 para = 12000 akçe. Today, only a few places have more than one subunit, notably the Jordanian