Europe's Problem Children

Among bears it's pretty much taken as a given at this point that the European monetary union is on the brink of disintegration.  With this in mind, I thought it might be a good idea to break out the old photo albums and take a stroll down memory lane.

Below are charts of the PIIGS' old currencies from the 70s through 2001.  Every single one shows a long term systematic destruction of the value of the currency.  To bolster the bears' argument: none of these countries really ever showed restraint, so I suppose it's tough to believe that anything has changed.

Portuguese Escudos

Irish Pounds (Inverted as Pounds/Dollar)

Italian Lire

Greek Drachma

Spanish Pesetas

And of course, the "good kids" Germany and France who just tried to play by the rules...

German Deutsche Marks

French Francs