1 ECU - Cernay

Cernay, an Alsatian commune near Mulhouse, issued this ecu as part of the wave of local trade currency schemes that proliferated across French municipalities in the early 1990s. These pieces circulated within defined merchant networks as a tool for keeping retail spending local — a direct response to the commercial pressure large-format suburban retailers were placing on town-centre shops. The ecu denomination was a deliberate nod to the European unit of account then being debated in the run-up to Maastricht, though these local issues had no connection to any official monetary framework.

The euro's arrival effectively ended the political appeal of the name by 2002.