&gt; The dollar was trading at about 0.75 to the Euro around 2009. What is a challenge in your eyes?<p>I can&#x27;t say what adventured meant by a challenge, but it certainly wasn&#x27;t that. The exchange rate with the dollar is just a function of how many euros <i>exist</i>. Challenging the dollar would be something more along the lines of &quot;do people prefer to store their wealth in dollars or in euros&quot;.<p>See also: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.straightdope.com&#x2F;columns&#x2F;read&#x2F;2120&#x2F;why-is-the-latvian-lat-worth-more-than-the-u-s-dollar" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.straightdope.com&#x2F;columns&#x2F;read&#x2F;2120&#x2F;why-is-the-lat...</a><p>&gt; Man, where to start? Just because a country&#x27;s basic unit of currency is worth more than ours doesn&#x27;t mean the country is richer. If you think that 100 pennies is &quot;richer&quot; than 10 dollars because the absolute number is bigger, then we&#x27;re not going to have much luck dealing with foreign exchange rates.<p>&gt; A common myth is that if a currency is worth less than $1, it&#x27;s weaker than the U.S. dollar, and if it&#x27;s worth more, then it&#x27;s stronger. Your Latvian friend is trying to pull this on you, but it&#x27;s nonsense.