In Europe, a Coin Meets Its Waterloo, Literally
Here at the Belgian Royal Mint, machines called giraffes spit out as many as 850 euros a minute.
在布魯塞爾的比利時皇家鑄幣廠，名喚長頸鹿的機器每分鐘最多可產出850枚歐元硬幣。
At times during the summer of 2008, that many shiny coins would have been worth $1,360. Now it is just under $950, a symptom of Europe’s inability to navigate through crisis.
如果是在2008年夏天的某些時候，這850個閃亮的1歐元硬幣可以兌換1,360美元，而現在呢，還換不到950美元，這正是歐洲無力脫離危機的癥候。
But at the mint, there were more immediate concerns during a recent visit: the Battle of Waterloo.
然而日前參訪這家鑄幣廠時，卻有更迫切的事情讓人掛心：滑鐵盧戰役。
Since members of the eurozone are allowed to produce a limited number of commemorative coins, the Belgians recently minted a 2-euro coin memorializing the 200th anniversary of the battle, which ended Napoleon’s rule in France.
歐元區會員國依規定可以自行鑄造限量的紀念幣，比利時遂於最近鑄造了面值2歐元的硬幣，用以紀念滑鐵盧戰役200周年，這場戰役終結了拿破崙對法國的統治。
But then the French protested to European officials, arguing that the coin’s design, which shows a lion perched over a map, “appears prejudicial, in a context where the governments of the eurozone are trying to strengthen unity and cooperation throughout the monetary union.”
後來法國向歐盟抗議，主張紀念幣上一頭獅子盤踞地圖的設計，「在歐元區國家努力透過貨幣同盟強化團結與合作的大環境下，顯得破壞和諧。」
In the skirmish that followed, the side of Napoleon prevailed. The Belgians were left with 180,000 new coins that had to be destroyed.
接下來的爭論，由拿破崙一方勝出，留給比利時18萬枚必須銷毀的硬幣。
When a reporter started laughing at the idea of European nations fighting anew over Waterloo, he was lightly admonished.
一名記者想到歐洲國家為了滑鐵盧重起爭端而笑了出來，遭到小小的勸告。
“You can laugh about it,” Andre A. Toujour, the royal mint’s assistant manager, said. “We don’t.”
「閣下可以嘲笑，我們卻無法一笑置之，」皇家鑄幣廠副理安德烈．A．圖久如此表示。
The euro’s value is as much psychological as financial. This year, the euro has been flirting with parity to the dollar, underscoring the divergent fortunes of the American and European economies. Since the euro was introduced in 1999, it has been at parity with the dollar just twice.
歐元幣值的心理面和金融面同樣重要。今年，歐元幣值始終在兌換美元平價的部位游走，凸顯出美國與歐洲經濟境況的殊異。歐元1999年上市迄今，只有兩次貶到兌換美元的匯率是一比一。
Last year, the Belgian mint produced more than 42 million European coins – from the 1-cent piece to the 2-euro coin – with a face value of 12.9 million euros. That was worth about $15.6 million at the end of last year and $14.4 million on Monday. Back in April 2008 it would have been worth $20.6 million.
去年，比利時鑄幣廠發行4,200多萬枚歐元硬幣，幣值從1分到2元，總面值1,290萬歐元。去年底還值1,560萬美元，最近只能兌換1,440萬美元。若回推到2008年4月，則可兌換2,060萬美元。
“This is a signal that the euro-area economy is weaker than the U.S. economy,” said Zsolt Darvas, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels research organization.
「這是歐元區經濟比美國弱的訊號，」布魯塞爾歐洲與全球經濟研究室「布魯格」資深研究員佐特．達瓦斯表示。
One kind of euro is rising in value – the now exceedingly rare Waterloo coin.
有一種歐元幣值持續上揚：現今非常稀有的滑鐵盧硬幣。
At the royal mint, the giraffes sucked up unformed metal slugs from trays and deposit them into boxy gray machines where they are pounded into shape. This is the European dream of togetherness in perhaps its most tangible, if uncertain, form.
在皇家鑄幣廠，「長頸鹿」吸入托盤上未成形的金屬小塊，放入四四方方的灰色機器，將金屬塊鑄造成形。這可能是歐元區統合之夢最具體的形態，即使並不明確。
“It is a foundation,” said Bernard Gillard, who runs the royal mint. “A foundation for European countries,” echoed Mr. Toujour.
皇家鑄幣廠廠長伯納德．吉拉德說：「這是基礎，」圖久則應和道：「歐洲國家的基礎」。
Mr. Gillard went to fetch a coin from a safe. He leaves a calling card on the millions of coins that are produced here – a tiny image of a cat, because Mr. Gillard is a cat man and has seven of them at home.
吉拉德從保險箱拿出一枚硬幣，走開時留下一張鑄幣廠的名片，上面有隻貓的小圖案，因為吉拉德是愛貓人，家裡養了七隻貓。
He returned with a surviving Waterloo coin, which was encased in a protective covering, and placed it on a table in his office. “It is a beautiful design,” he said.
他回來時帶著一枚倖存的滑鐵盧紀念幣，由保護膜包覆，將其放在辦公室的桌上。他說：「設計很漂亮」。
Mr. Toujour said, “We were quite astonished, because we had a big part of the production ready, so now it’s just a waste of time and a waste of money and a waste of everything, because of the French government.”
圖久說：「我們大吃一驚，因為生產數量已經相當大，如今變成白費時間、白費金錢，一切都白費了，就因為法國政府。」
The French government declined to comment.
法國政府拒絕置評。
（張佑生譯）
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