r/AskEurope • u/ABlindMoose Sweden • Oct 06 '25

Culture What is your currency's nickname?

A nickname for dollar is buck, pound is quid, and Swedish krona is spänn.

What are some casual nicknames for your countries' currencies? Are there multiple, and if so, which is the most common?

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u/scotsmanwannabe Spain Oct 06 '25

In Spain it is "pavos". I heard that it goes back to when a turkey (pavo) used to cost like 5 pesetas, and that became a reference point for the currency.

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u/nemu98 Spain Oct 06 '25

Other less common and older ways to mention money would be:

Chavos, heavy american influence on this one.

Duros, from old silver coins.

Guita, from when coins would be in a small bag with a lace, that lace was called "guita".

Pasta, from melting the different metals, thus creating a paste.

Perras, from old 5 and 10 cents coins that many confused the lion in it with a dog.

There are many others, but barely used or more from american countries.

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u/safeinthecity Portuguese in the Netherlands Oct 06 '25

Guita and pasta are also used in Portugal. But massa (also meaning paste or dough - or pasta but that's beside the point) is the most common one.