One man who will definitely mourn the passing of our little pound will be Tom Wallace, editor of Conde Nast Traveller. "I will miss the Irish punt," he is quoted in the latest edition of Time magazine. "There's nothing more satisfying than buying a pint with a punt."

Time asked several experts what European coin or bill they would miss most as a result of the introduction of the euro. But Mr Wallace was the only one to lament the demise of the punt - and indeed link a pint to his consideration of the matter.