Hymans:The Changing Color of Money 4.Implications European currency iconography historically has reflected the Europe-wide cultural Zeirgeist.Iconographic shifts from the late 19th century to the present day have occurred along the two Inglehart-Meyer axes of the locus of actorhood and the nature of goals.The data clearly shows the superiority of the 'state as legitimacy-seeker'model as opposed to the 'state as pedagogue'model.Does this discovery help us to understand the icono- graphic choices made in the case of the euro banknotes?Moreover,what does it tell us about the potential for the construction of a European demos'?This section offers some tentative answers to these questions. The Euro:Lowest Common Denominator or Trendsetter? There is no doubt that the euro's design is a departure from that of most national currencies.There are no human figures at all;instead,the euro bills show ideal-typical -not actual -examples of styles from different chronological eras in European architectural history.On the front of the bills we find ideal-typical representations of windows,archways,and doors. According to the ECB website,these symbolize 'the European spirit of openness and cooperation'.On the back we find ideal-typical representations of bridges,aqueducts and viaducts.These symbolize 'the close cooperation and communication between Europe and the rest of the world'(European Central Bank,2003).In addition to these images,we find the familiar circle of European stars and a map of Western and Central Europe-with vague boundaries to the east,but clear boundaries to the south. Most people who have given the euro's iconography any thought have argued that it means absolutely nothing-and that this was no accident. Some claim that the euro's supposed blandness reflects a basic problem facing those who wish to construct a European'identity-the absence of truly European collective memories or lieux de memoire (Gaillard,1999) But this purely cultural argument is weak.It is important to recall that most national'collective memories were once associated with other levels of identity.Just as pre-existing cultural material became 'nationalized',with a similar modicum of effort it could today be 'Europeanized'.Thus,other observers have much more plausibly claimed that the problem is primarily political.Scholars such as Benjamin J.Cohen and Eric Helleiner have surmised that nation-states,while eager for the functional benefits of the euro,may have preferred to keep the EU out of the identity business (Cohen,1998;Helleiner,2002;see also Zakaria,1999).In short,in the eyes of these critics,the curo's iconography is simply a lowest common iconographic denominator. 19 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.Further reproduction prohibited without permission.Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission