Why Not Accept Euros?

Mark Perry raises his eyebrows at the news that they are accepting Euros at liquor stores in the East Village (link).

Okay, granted, he caught my attention, too. But on second thought, why not?

I suspect the correct response depends on your view as to why the retailers are taking Euros. When I was in Turkey in the early 90s, the locals were desperate for dollars, Deutschmarks, Swiss franks, even Italian lira--anything to get themselves out the inflation spiral that governed Turkish currency for so long: better to have the foreign currency than to have to run to the bank.

On the other hand, anything is a worth dollar (or a Euro) at the right price. In this age of free convertability and ready access to the facilities of exchange--and of ready-configured conversion cash registers--it really shouldn't matter: or at any rate it is nothing more than a little teaser to the customer, like the bowl of mints at the hostess podium. In five-star hotels in India, my impression is they'll take any of a half dozen currencies at the market rate, and with little or nothing by way of exchange ripoff in the process.

My guess is that for present purposes, we are Indians and not Turks. But I have to admit, I stopped to read his blog post.

Afterthought: I wasn't there, but I am told that in Slovenia in the early 90s, they got shirty about foreign currency, especially Deutschmarks. "We have our own currency now," they would say. A matter of national pride, I suppose. I assume there are motel operators in West Texas who will insist on the dollar as a matter of national pride, but mine doesn't run that far.

Update: FP falls for the weak-dollar explanation (link). And fn to FP: coins don't crumple.