Muddles and mix-ups on euro debut

More than 300 million Europeans are now using the euro

LONDON, England -- Amid all the upheaval and wider economic implications, the introduction of the single European currency -- the euro -- in 12 countries has thrown up some more offbeat incidents.

Some Europeans are still getting to grips with the new notes and coins, while others have tried to make a political point about the new currency.

Don't bet on the euro

BERLIN, Germany -- Gamblers willing to bet their euros in a spot of heads and tails have been warned to be wary -- mathematicians say the new coins favour heads.

IN-DEPTH Euro: Ready or Not  On the Scene:  Reports from CNN correspondents around Europe

Polish mathematicians Tomasz Gliszczynski and Waclaw Zawadowski and their students at the Podlaska Academy in Siedlce spun one Belgian euro coin 250 times, Germany's Die Welt daily reported on Thursday. King Albert's head landed facing up 140 times.

"The euro is struck asymmetrically," Gliszczynski, who teaches statistics, told the newspaper. "I know the phenomenon from other coins like the two zloty piece, which we have thrown more than 10,000 times." -- Reuters

Crafty drinker cashes in Monopoly money

PARIS, France -- A customer at a bar in southern France paid a server with Monopoly money, taking advantage of confusion surrounding the euro to get a free drink.

Jean-Paul Boutan, owner of Le Bout's bar in Auch, said the server who took the fake money was not used to the new euro bank notes and mistook the five-euro Monopoly bank note for real currency. The classic board game now comes in a euro edition.

"It was the first day of the new year," Boutan told The Associated Press. "We were tired after being open so late the night before," he said -- Associated Press

Robbers bungle euro heist

BERLIN, Germany -- An attempt to steal a cash machine packed with euros was scuppered when the robbers took an account statement dispenser by mistake.

Three men used a stolen van to pull out the window of a bank branch in Friedersdorf near Berlin on Tuesday night.

But police called to the scene found the cash machine containing euro notes intact and in place while a separate account statement dispenser was missing -- Reuters

Gracious gift was small change

ROME, Italy -- Currency confusion prompted an Italian housewife to leave just two euro cents in her church's collection plate on Thursday.

The woman in Novara, nothern Italy, proudly placed a single coin in the collection basket thinking it was an act of enormous generosity. She only realised later that her gift amounted to less than two U.S. cents.

"I went to church with some copper-coloured coins in my purse which my daughter had bought in a euro starter-kit...I never thought they were only cents," she said later. "I hope God will forgive me because it was done in good faith." -- Reuters

French banks ticked off

PARIS, France -- French banks got a ticking off from the government over reports that some branches around the country were refusing to exchange francs for euros.

"Shopkeepers are not bankers," said Finance Minister Laurent Fabius, taking up a complaint from retail federations that shops were being used as bureaux de change by customers wanting to get rid of big denomination franc notes -- Reuters

Pensioner makes her point

ROME, Italy -- An Italian pensioner showed her disdain for the new currency by slapping down 600 euros ($542) for a 75-cent cappuccino and demanding the change in lire.

The waiter at the cafe in Jesi, a town in central Italy, "kindly but firmly" refused to exchange the euros for lire, ANSA news agency reported -- Reuters

Biscuit tin hoarder causes delays

NAPLES, Italy -- A man in a busy Naples bank caused long queues when he tried to cash in 67 million lire brought in in a biscuit tin.

After having waited outside the bank since 5.00 a.m. (0300 GMT), the unidentified old man slowly handed the 67 million lire (34,600 euros) to the bankteller in worn out, smelly notes ranging from 1,000 to 100,000 lire, ANSA news agency reported.

"Yes, we've had quite a few old people in here with banknotes which reek of mothballs," said one teller. "It looks like everyone decided today was the day to change them." -- Associated Press