The euro marks 20 years of turmoil and triumph

The currency is now used by nearly 340 million Europeans in 20 countries

NICOSIA, Cyprus - The center of Frankfurt erupted with fireworks at the stroke of midnight back on Jan 4, 1999 as a common European currency was launched for the first time.

Now, almost a generation later, celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the euro have been largely muted. For many young Europeans, the currencies it replaced like the franc, deutschmark, guilder and lira are learned about in history classes.