This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars.

In the early 1990s, a block of European countries embarked on a pretty wild experiment.

They decided to get rid of all their money and replace it with a single

common currency. Today the euro is something we take for granted, but 30 years

ago it was an extraordinary and risky idea.

Twelve different countries who spoke different languages

with different cultures and economies

all using the same paper money.

Nobody was sure if it would work.

And yet, despite the risk, Nobody was sure if it would work.

And yet, despite the risk, there were some really good reasons to try.

This is Jacob Goldstein, the author of Money, the true story of a made-up thing. Hey Jacob.

Hi Roman.

So let's talk about the euro.

Specifically, we're going to talk about the design of the paper money,

but let's start with the idea of the euro itself.

Yet you can start that story with the fall of the Berlin Wall.

How do you measure such an astonishing moment in history?

The East German government said tonight they were going to make more openings in the wall, at least a dozen more, put bulldozers right through the wall so that more people could cross to the west.

East Germany and West Germany had been separate countries since the end of World War II

and in 1990 Germany was about to become one country again which was in many ways a joyous

moment you know the fall of this repressive regime in

...