The official currency used in France is the Euro. The Euro banknotes and coins were introduced in France on January 1, 2002, after a transitional period of three years when the Euro was the official currency but only existed as book money. The dual circulation period, when both the French franc and the Euro had legal tender status, ended on February 17, 2002. The Banque de France exchanged French franc coins until February 17, 2005, and franc banknotes until February 17, 2012. Today, one Euro is divided into 100 cents, and there are seven notes in circulation, available in denominations of €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 (rare), and €500 (rare). There are also eight coins in circulation in denominations of €1 and €2, then one, two, five, 10, 20, and 50 cents.