Euro banknotes
Banknotes of the euro, the common currency of the eurozone (euro area members), have been in circulation since the first series (also called ES1) was issued in 2002. They are issued by the national central banks of the Eurosystem or the European Central Bank.[1] The euro was established in 1999, but "for the first three years it was an invisible currency, used for accounting purposes only, e.g. in electronic payments".[2] In 2002, notes and coins began to circulate. The euro rapidly took over from the former national currencies and slowly expanded around the European Union.
Denominations of the notes range from €5 to €500 and, unlike euro coins, the design is identical across the whole of the eurozone, although they are issued and printed in various member states. The euro banknotes are pure cotton fibre, which improves their durability as well as giving the banknotes a distinctive feel. They measure from 120 by 62 millimetres (4.7 in × 2.4 in) to 160 by 82 millimetres (6.3 in × 3.2 in) and have a variety of color schemes. The euro notes contain many complex security features such as watermarks, invisible ink characteristics, holograms, optically variable inks and microprinting that document their authenticity. While euro coins have a national side indicating the country of issue (although not necessarily of minting), euro notes lack this. Instead, this information is shown by the first character of each note's serial number.
According to European Central Bank estimates, in July 2023, there were about 29.624 billion banknotes in circulation around the eurozone, with a total value of about €1.569 trillion.[3] On 8 November 2012, the ECB announced that the first series of notes would be replaced by the Europa series (also called ES2), starting with the 5 euro note on 2 May 2013.[4] This series does not have a €500 note, as the ECB have decided to permanently cease its production over concerns that it could facilitate illicit activities.[5]
Estimates suggest that the average life of a euro banknote is about three years before replacement due to wear, but with a wide variation by denomination level, from less than a year for €5 banknotes to over 30 years for €500 banknotes, on average. High denomination banknotes (€100, €200, €500) typically last longer as they are less frequently used. The Europa series lower denomination €5 and €10 banknotes are designed to last longer, thanks to additional coating.[6][7][8]
History edit
It is also used de facto in two other countries (Kosovo and Montenegro) (light blue)
The euro came into existence on 1 January 1999.[2] The euro's creation had been a goal of the European Union (EU) and its predecessors since the 1960s.[2] The Maastricht Treaty entered into force in 1993 with the goal of creating economic and monetary union by 1999 for all EU states except the UK and Denmark (though Denmark has a policy of a fixed exchange rate with the euro).[9]
Though the currency was born virtually in 1999,[2] notes and coins did not begin to circulate until 2002.[2] The euro rapidly took over from the former national currencies and slowly expanded around the growing EU.[2] In 2009, the Lisbon Treaty formalised the euro's political authority, the Eurogroup, alongside the European Central Bank.[10]
Slovenia joined the eurozone in 2007,[11] Cyprus and Malta in 2008,[12] Slovakia in 2009,[13] Estonia in 2011,[14] Latvia in 2014,[15] Lithuania in 2015[16] and Croatia in 2023.
Specification edit
There are seven different denominations of euro banknotes: €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, and €500. Each has a distinctive colour and size,[17] and displays examples of a historical European architectural style:[17][18] windows or gateways on the obverse, and bridges on the reverse.[17][18] The architectural examples featured are stylised illustrations of the corresponding style, rather than representations of existing structures.[17][18]
First series edit
The following table depicts the design characteristics of the 1st series (ES1) of euro notes.
| Image | Value | Year | Dimensions (millimetres) | Main colour | Design | Printer code position | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse | Reverse | Architecture | Century | |||||||
| €5 | 2002 | 120 × 62 mm | Grey[19] | Classical | < 5th | Left image edge[20] | ||||
| €10 | 2002 | 127 × 67 mm | Red[21] | Romanesque | 11–12th | 8 o'clock star[22] | ||||
| €20 | 2002 | 133 × 72 mm | Blue[23] | Gothic | 12–14th | 9 o'clock star[24] | ||||
| €50 | 2002 | 140 × 77 mm | Orange[25] | Renaissance | 15–16th | Right image edge[26] | ||||
| €100 | 2002 | 147 × 82 mm | Green[27] | Baroque and Rococo | 17–18th | Right of 9 o'clock star[28] | ||||
| €200 | 2002 | 153 × 82 mm | Yellow[29] | Art Nouveau | 19–20th | Above 7 o'clock star[30] | ||||
| €500 | 2002 | 160 × 82 mm | Purple[31] | Modern architecture (20th century) | 20–21st | 9 o'clock star[32] | ||||
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. | ||||||||||
All the notes of the initial series of euro notes bear the European flag, a map of the continent on the reverse, the name "euro" in both Latin and Greek script (EURO / ΕΥΡΩ) and the signature of a president of the ECB, depending on when the banknote was printed.[17][18] The 12 stars from the flag are also incorporated into every note.[17][18]
The notes also carry the acronyms of the name of the European Central Bank in five linguistic variants, covering all official languages of the EU in 2002 (the time of the banknote introduction), and now 19 out of 24 official languages of the EU27, in the following order:[17]
- BCE (French: Banque centrale européenne,[33] Irish: Banc Ceannais Eorpach,[34] Italian: Banca centrale europea,[35] Portuguese: Banco Central Europeu,[36] Spanish: Banco Central Europeo[37])
- ECB (English: European Central Bank,[38] Danish: Europæiske Centralbank,[39] Dutch: Europese Centrale Bank,[40] Swedish: Europeiska centralbanken[41])
- EZB (German: Europäische Zentralbank[42])
- ΕΚΤ (Greek: Ευρωπαϊκή Κεντρική Τράπεζα[43])
- EKP (Finnish: Euroopan keskuspankki[44])[18]
The order is determined by the EU country listing order,[45] with BCE ahead of ECB because of the national precedence of Belgium's two main languages, followed by the remaining languages of Germany (Deutschland), Greece (Ελλάδα, Elláda[46]) and Finland (Suomi), in that order.
The initial designs for the banknotes were chosen from 44 proposals in a design competition, launched by the Council of the European Monetary Institute (EMI) on 12 February 1996.[47] The winning entry, created by Robert Kalina from the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, was selected on 3 December 1996.[47]
The euro banknotes were made of pure cotton fibre, which improves their durability as well as giving the banknotes a distinctive feel.[48]
In the first and Europa series, the Azores, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Madeira, Martinique, Réunion, and the Canary Islands, overseas territories of the eurozone member states, which also use the euro, were shown under the map in separate boxes. Cyprus and Malta were not shown on the first series because they were not in the EU in 2002, when the banknotes were issued, even though they joined the eurozone in 2008. The map did not stretch as far east as Cyprus, while Malta was too small to be depicted.[18] Both Cyprus and Malta are however depicted on the Europa series note.[4]
Second series edit
The following table depicts the design characteristics of the second series of euro banknotes (ES2), also known as the Europa series, after the holographic depiction of the mythological Europa common to these banknotes.[49]
| Image | Value | Year | Dimensions (millimetres) | Main colour | Design | Printer code position | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse | Reverse | Architecture | Century | ||||||||
| €5 | 2013 | 120 × 62 mm | Grey[50] | Classical | < 5th | Top right | |||||
| €10 | 2014 | 127 × 67 mm | Red[51] | Romanesque | 11–12th | Top right | |||||
| €20 | 2015 | 133 × 72 mm | Blue[52] | Gothic | 12–14th | Top right | |||||
| €50 | 2017 | 140 × 77 mm | Orange[53] | Renaissance | 15–16th | Top right | |||||
| €100 | 2019 | 147 × 77 mm | Green[54] | Baroque & Rococo | 17–18th | Top right | |||||
| €200 | 2019 | 153 × 77 mm | Yellow-brown[55] | Art Nouveau | 19–20th | Top right | |||||
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. | |||||||||||
The Europa series banknotes, similarly to the first series, bear the European flag, a map of the continent on the reverse and the signature of Mario Draghi, since 1 November 2011 president of the ECB. The 12 stars from the flag are also incorporated into the notes.[17][18] On 4 May 2016 the European Central Bank decided not to issue a 500 euro banknote for the Europa series.[5]
The series also bears the name of the currency in capital letters, but in three scripts: Latin (EURO), Greek (ΕΥΡΩ), and Cyrillic (ЕВРО).[4]
The 2nd series €100 and €200 notes are a different size to the €100 and €200 notes from the 1st series. Both denominations are now the same height (77 mm) as the €50 banknote, which makes them more comfortable to use. Their length remains unchanged.
The design for the 50, 100 and 200 euro notes features the acronyms of the name of the European Central Bank in ten linguistic variants, covering all official languages of the European Union, in the following order:[4]
- BCE (French: Banque centrale européenne,[33] Irish: Banc Ceannais Eorpach,[56] Italian: Banca centrale europea,[35] Portuguese: Banco Central Europeu,[36] Romanian: Banca Centrală Europeană,[57] Spanish: Banco Central Europeo[37])
- ECB (English: European Central Bank,[38] Czech: Evropská centrální banka,[58] Danish: Europæiske Centralbank,[39] Dutch: Europese Centrale Bank,[40] Latvian: Eiropas Centrālā banka,[59] Lithuanian: Europos Centrinis Bankas,[60] Slovak: Európska centrálna banka,[61] Slovene: Evropska centralna banka,[62] Swedish: Europeiska centralbanken[41])
- ЕЦБ (Bulgarian: Европейска централна банка[63])
- EZB (German: Europäische Zentralbank[42])
- EKP (Estonian: Euroopa Keskpank,[64] Finnish: Euroopan keskuspankki[44])
- ΕΚΤ (Greek: Ευρωπαϊκή Κεντρική Τράπεζα[43])
- ESB (Croatian: Europska središnja banka[65])
- EKB (Hungarian: Európai Központi Bank[66])
- BĊE (Maltese: Bank Ċentrali Ewropew[67])
- EBC (Polish: Europejski Bank Centralny[68])
The 5 euro, 10 euro and 20 euro notes do not feature ESB, as Croatian became an official language only in July 2013 with the accession of Croatia, after the introduction of the banknote design earlier that year. The order in which the acronyms are shown is determined by the same principles as for Series 1:[45] the language of Bulgaria (България/Bulgaria[46]) precedes that of Germany (Deutschland); EKP now precedes ΕΚΤ due to the accession of Estonia (Eesti); and the languages of Croatia (Hrvatska), Hungary (Magyarország), Malta and Poland (Polska) trail the list.
The notes of the Europa series do not show the same year. The year shown is the year the note is issued.
The Europa series euro banknotes are supposedly more durable than the first series banknotes.[4]
Reinhold Gerstetter, an independent banknote designer (and one of participants of the 1996 design contest), was chosen by the European Central Bank to redesign the euro notes.[4]
Third series edit
In December 2021, the ECB announced plans to redesign euro banknotes by 2024. A theme advisory group, made up of one member from each euro area country, was selected to submit theme proposals to the ECB. The proposals will be voted on by the public; a design competition will also be held.[69] In 2023, the ECB asked the public to vote on a theme for the new design.[70]
Design edit
Bridges edit
Due to the great number of historic bridges, arches, and gateways throughout the European continent, all the structures represented on the notes are entirely stylised illustrations of the relevant architectural styles, designed to evoke the landmarks within the European Union,[17] representing various European ages and styles.[17] For example, the 5 euro note has a generic rendition of Classical architecture,[17] the 10 euro note of Romanesque architecture,[17] the 20 euro note of Gothic architecture,[17] the 50 euro note of the Renaissance,[17] the 100 euro note of Baroque and Rococo,[17] the 200 euro note of Art Nouveau[17] and the 500 euro note of modern architecture.[17] The initial designs by Robert Kalina were of actual bridges, including the Rialto Bridge in Venice and the Pont de Neuilly in Paris, and were subsequently rendered more generic.[71] In 2011, Dutch artist Robin Stam and the town of Spijkenisse in the Netherlands built seven bridges of colored concrete after the designs on the seven euro banknotes.[72][73][74][75]
Signature edit
Parts of this article (those related to this section) need to be updated. (April 2022) |
The euro banknotes bear the signature of the President of the European Central Bank.[18]
Wim Duisenberg was the first ECB president when the first euro banknotes and coins were issued until 2003.[18] Notes printed between November 2003 and March 2012 show the signature of Jean-Claude Trichet, the second President of the ECB.[18][76] Banknotes printed after March 2012 bear the signature of the third ECB President Mario Draghi.[18]
From 2020, Christine Lagarde's signature will gradually begin to appear on banknotes entering circulation, becoming the fourth signature to appear on euro banknotes.[77]
Security features edit
The European Central Bank has described some of the basic security features of the euro notes that allow the general public to recognise the authenticity of their currency at a glance:
- For the first series: the firm and crisp paper, the raised print, the watermark, the security thread, the see-through number, the hologram, the micro-perforations, the glossy stripe for €20 and below, the color-changing number for €50 and above, UV light, infrared and the microprint.[78]
- For the Europa series: the firm and crisp paper, the raised print, the portrait watermark, the security thread, the emerald number, the portrait hologram, UV and UV-C, infrared and the microprint.[79]
However, in the interest of advanced security of the euro notes, the full list of these features is a closely guarded secret of the European Central Bank and the National Central Banks of the Eurosystem.
Still, between the official descriptions and independent discoveries made by observant users, it is thought that the euro notes have at least eleven different security features, which are:
- Holograms[78] – The lower value notes carry a holographic band to the right of the obverse. This band contains the denomination, the euro sign, the stars of the EU flag and perforations in the shape of the euro sign. In the Europa series €5 banknote, there is Europa, a gate, 'EURO' and the euro sign, the number 5 and perforations in the shape of a euro sign.[80] The higher-value notes include a holographic decal containing the denomination, the obverse illustration, microprinting, and perforations in the shape of the euro sign.
- Variable colour ink[78] – This appears on the lower right-hand side corner of the reverse of the higher-value notes. When observed from different angles, the colour will change from purple to olive green or brown. This special ink is also on the left bottom on the Europa series notes.[80]
- Checksum – Each note has a unique serial number. The remainder from dividing the serial number by 9 gives checksum corresponding to the initial letter indicated on the note.[81] Using a variation of the divisibility rule shortcut, the remainder from division by 9 can easily be found by adding the constituent digits and, if the sum still does not make the remainder obvious, adding the digits of the sum.[81] Alternatively, substituting the letter with its ASCII value makes the resulting number exactly divisible by 9. Taking the same example, Z10708476264, the ASCII code for Z is 90, so the resulting number is 9010708476264. Dividing by 9 yields a remainder of 0. Using the divisibility rule again, the result can be checked speedily since the addition of all digits gives 54; 5 + 4 = 9—so the number is divisible by 9, or 9010708476264 modulo 9 is 0.[81]
- EURion constellation[82] – Euro banknotes contain a pattern known as the EURion constellation that can be used to detect their identity as banknotes to prevent copying and counterfeiting. Some photocopiers are programmed to reject images containing this pattern.
- Watermarks – There are possibly two watermarks on the euro notes.[80][78][83] They are:
- Standard watermark – Each denomination is printed on uniquely watermarked paper. This may be observed by holding the note up to the light. The thinner parts will show up brighter with backlight illumination and darker with a dark background. In the first series, the standard watermark is a gate/window that is depicted on the note and the denomination,[78] for the €5 of the Europa series, it is the face of Europa and the denomination as well.[80]
- Digital watermark – Like the EURion constellation, a Digimarc digital watermark is embedded in the banknotes' designs. Recent versions of image editors, such as Adobe Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro refuse to process banknotes.[83] This system is called Counterfeit Deterrence System (CDS) and was developed by the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group.
- Infrared and fluorescent printing patterns[78] – When seen in the near infrared, the banknotes will show darker areas in different zones depending on the denomination. Ultraviolet light will make the EURion constellation show in sharper contrast, and also some fluorescent fibres stand out.
- Security thread[78] – A black magnetic thread in the centre of the note is only seen when held up to the light. It features the denomination of the note, along with the word "euro" in the Latin alphabet and the Greek alphabet.
- Magnetic ink[78] – Some areas of the euro notes feature magnetic ink. For example, the rightmost church window on the €20 note is magnetic, as well as the large zero above it.
- Microprinting[78] – The texture lines to the bottom, like those aligned to the right of ΕΥΡΩ mark on the €5 note, consist of the sequence "EURO ΕΥΡΩ" in microprinting.
- Matted surface[78] – The euro sign and the denomination are printed on a vertical band that is only visible when illuminated at an angle of 45°. This only exists for the lower-value notes.
- Raised print – On every banknote, the initials of the ECB are in raised print. In the first series, every banknote has a bar with raised print lines. On the €200 note of the first series, there are lines at the bottom which are raised to allow blind people to identify the note. On the €500 note of the first series, these lines are on the right-hand side.[78] On the Europa series, there are lines on both sides of the banknote.[80]
- Bar code[clarification needed][78] – When held up to the light, dark bars can be seen to the right of the watermark. The number and width of these bars indicates the denomination of the note. When scanned, these bars are converted to Manchester code.[84]
| Note | Barcode | Manchester |
|---|---|---|
| €5 | 0110 10 | 100 |
| €10 | 0101 10 | 110 |
| €20 | 1010 1010 | 0000 |
| €50 | 0110 1010 | 1000 |
| €100 | 0101 1010 | 1100 |
| €200 | 0101 0110 | 1110 |
| €500 | 0101 0101 | 1111 |
(looked at from the reverse, a dark bar is 1, a bright bar 0)
Europa series edit
The European Central Bank intends to redesign the notes every seven or eight years. A new series, called the "Europa series", was released from 2013; the first notes entered circulation on 2 May 2013.[85] The new series includes slight changes, notably the inclusion of the face of the mythological princess Europa in the watermark and in the hologram stripe.[86]
New production and anti-counterfeiting techniques are employed on the new notes, but the design shares the colours of the first series and the theme of bridges and arches.[85] The new notes are nonetheless recognisable as a new series.[87]
The new notes also reflect the expansion of the European Union: every member of the EU is depicted on it. The initial series did not include the recent members Cyprus and Malta (Cyprus was off the map to the east and Malta was too small to be depicted.)[18]
The Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet features on the Europa series banknotes, as a result of Bulgaria joining the European Union in 2007. Thus this series includes "ЕВРО", which is the Bulgarian spelling for EURO, as well as the abbreviation "ЕЦБ" (short for Европейска централна банка in Bulgarian),[88] while set to join the eurozone and abandon Bulgarian lev in 2024. The new banknotes also feature the Maltese abbreviation BĊE (Bank Ċentrali Ewropew)[inconsistent with the above], the Hungarian abbreviation EKB (Európai Központi Bank) and the Polish abbreviation EBC (Europejski Bank Centralny). The modified 5 euro note features the initials of the European Central Bank in each of the contemporary EU member languages in a column on the left-hand side of the obverse.[88] The word "euro" in Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic lettering has also been moved to a more central position.[88]
The full design of the Europa series 5 euro banknote was revealed on 10 January 2013.[89] The new note entered circulation on 2 May 2013.[90] The full design of the Europa series 10 euro note was revealed on 13 January 2014 and it entered circulation on 23 September 2014.[91] The full design of the Europa series 20 euro banknote was revealed on 24 February 2015, [92][93] and it was launched on 25 November 2015.[92] The full design of the Europa series 50 euro note was revealed on 5 July 2016[94] and the new 50 note was released on 4 April 2017.[95][96] The full design of the Europa series 100 euro banknote and 200 euro banknote was revealed on 17 September 2018 and the new notes entered circulation on 28 May 2019[97] therefore "will complete the issuance of the Europa series."[98]
On 4 May 2016, the European Central Bank announced that a Europa series 500 euro banknote would not be released, due to fears of facilitating criminal activity.[5][99][100] "The ECB has decided to stop producing the €500 banknote, although the first series €500 remains legal tender."[98]
The old series will gradually be withdrawn.[98] The ECB will announce "well in advance" when the old notes will lose their legal tender status.[98] However, they will not lose their value and it will be possible to exchange them for new notes at Eurosystem central banks indefinitely.[85][98]
Security features edit
- Watermark: When the note is held under a normal light source, a portrait of Europa and an electrotype denomination appear on either side.[85][101]
- Portrait hologram: When the note is tilted, the silver-coloured holographic stripe reveals the portrait of Europa – the same one as in the watermark. The stripe also reveals a window and the value of the banknote.[85][101]
- Colour changing ink: When the note is tilted, the number on the note displays an effect of light that moves up and down. The number also changes colour from emerald green to deep blue.[85][101]
- Raised printing: On the front of the note, there is a series of short raised lines on the left and right edges. The main edge, the lettering and the large value numeral also feel thicker.[85][101]
- Security thread: When the note is held against the light, the security thread appears as a dark line. The euro symbol (€) and the value of the banknote can be seen in tiny white lettering in the thread.[85][101]
- Microprinting: Tiny letters which can be read with a magnifying glass. The letters should be sharp, not blurred.[101]
- Ultraviolet ink: Some parts of the banknote shine when under UV or UV-C light. These are the stars in the flag, the small circles, the large stars and several other areas on the front. On the back, a quarter of a circle in the centre as well as several other areas glow green. The horizontal serial number and a stripe appear in red.[101]
- Infrared light: Under infrared light, the emerald number, the right side of the main image and the silvery stripe are visible on the obverse of the banknote, while on the reverse, only the denomination and the horizontal serial number are visible.[101]
Features for people with impaired sight edit
"A good design for the blind and partially sighted is a good design for everybody" was the principle behind the cooperation of the European Central Bank and the European Blind Union during the design phase of the first series banknotes in the 1990s.[102] As a result, the design of the first euro banknotes include several characteristics which help both the blind and partially sighted to use the notes with greater confidence.[102]
Features for blind and visually impaired users include:
- Different banknote sizes – the bigger the value, the larger the note.[102]
- Clearly contrasting, striking banknote colours. The €5 note is grey, the €10 note red, the €20 note blue, the €50 note orange, the €100 note green, the €200 note yellow-brown and the €500 note is purple.[102]
- Large numerals for the denomination.[102]
- Raised print.[102]
- Tactile marks on the €200 and €500 of the first series and on all the notes of the Europa series.[80][102]
As in the design process of the first series of euro notes, visually impaired users were consulted during the design phase of the Europa series, and their feedback included in the final designs.[80]
Plans for a redesign edit
On 6 December 2021, the European Central Bank announced its intention to redesign the banknotes.[103] ECB President Christine Lagarde stated in a press release that it was time to "review the look of [the] banknotes and make them more relatable to the public".
A 19-member advisory board, with one member from each eurozone member state, was appointed and tasked with proposing a shortlist of themes for the new banknotes. After consultations with the public, a theme for the new notes will be chosen. A design competition for the new banknotes will follow, after which the ECB will again consult the public.
Motifs will be proposed by 2024 and the final decision on the redesign is expected to be taken in 2026. Plans for the timing of introduction, and possible phaseout of older banknotes, have not been announced. On 30 November 2023, the ECB announced that the new theme for future banknotes had been narrowed down to either "European culture" or "rivers and birds".[104]
Circulation edit
The European Central Bank closely monitors the circulation and stock of euro coins and banknotes. It is a task of the Eurosystem to ensure an efficient and smooth supply of euro notes and to maintain their integrity throughout the eurozone.[3]
Statistics edit
As of July 2023, there were about 29,624 million banknotes in circulation around the eurozone,[3] totalling about €1.569 trillion worth of banknotes.[3] The July 2023 breakdown is as follows:
| Note | Approx. no. of notes in circulation (billions)[3] | Value (€ billions)[3] | Share of total quantity (%)[105] | Share of total value (%)[106] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | 2.159 | 10.8 | 7.3 | 0.7 |
| €10 | 3.033 | 30.3 | 10.2 | 1.9 |
| €20 | 4.837 | 96.7 | 16.3 | 6.2 |
| €50 | 14.523 | 726.1 | 49.0 | 46.3 |
| €100 | 3.942 | 394.2 | 13.3 | 25.1 |
| €200 | 0.849 | 169.9 | 2.9 | 10.8 |
| €500 | 0.281 | 140.5 | 0.9 | 9.0 |
Figures since 2012
| Date | Banknotes (millions) | Value (€ billions) |
|---|---|---|
| December 2012 | 15,687 | 912.6 |
| December 2013 | 16,512 | 956.2 |
| December 2014 | 17,528 | 1,016.5 |
| December 2015 | 18,895 | 1,083.4 |
| December 2016 | 20,220 | 1,126.2 |
| December 2017 | 21,407 | 1,170.7 |
| December 2018 | 22,615 | 1,231.1 |
| December 2019 | 24,057 | 1,292.7 |
| December 2020 | 26,494 | 1,434.5 |
| December 2021 | 28,188 | 1,544.4 |
| December 2022 | 29,450 | 1,572.0 |
Counterfeiting edit
The European Central Bank publishes information on the amount of counterfeit banknotes removed from circulation every 6 months.[107] In 2009, the ECB reported the highest-ever amount of counterfeits with 860,000 removed items, a rate of 64 per million banknotes in circulation. According to an investigation of the University of Lausanne, the ratio of counterfeited banknotes was about 10 in one million real banknotes for the Swiss franc, of 100 in one million for United States dollar and of 300 in one million for pound sterling.[108]
In 2011, 606,000 euro counterfeits were removed from circulation (41 per million). In 2012, it was lower at 531,000 euro counterfeits (34 per million).[109] In 2014, the ECB removed 838,000 counterfeit euro banknotes from circulation (48 per million).[110] Since then, these values have continuously decreased, mainly due to the improved security features of the Europa series. In 2021, 347,000 euro counterfeits were seized, equivalent to a rate of 12 counterfeits per million banknotes in circulation. The majority of counterfeit items were €50 (33.8%) and €20 (32.1%) banknotes.[111]
Legal information edit
Legally, both the European Central Bank and the national central banks (NCBs) of the eurozone countries have the right to issue the seven different euro banknotes.[2] In practice, only the NCBs of the zone physically issue and withdraw euro notes.[2] The European Central Bank does not have a cash office and is not involved in any cash operations.[2] However, the European Central Bank is responsible for overseeing the activities of national central banks in order to harmonise cash services in the eurozone.[2]
Issuance and printing edit
The ECB has the exclusive right to authorise the issue of notes within the eurozone, but most notes are actually issued by the National Central Banks (NCBs) of the eurozone.[1] As of 2004, 8% of banknotes issues were allocated to the European Central Bank and 92% were allocated to eurozone NCBs (in practice, the ECB issues no notes and the NCBs' issues may deviate from the statutory allocation).[1] The issuing central bank can be seen on the banknote serial number. Each NCB is now responsible for the production of certain denominations, as assigned by the ECB.[1]
1st series edit
Since 2002, euro notes have been printed by the National Central Banks of the eurozone, with each Central Bank being responsible for and bearing the cost of producing a proportion of the notes.[112] The production of notes needs to be sufficient to meet expected and unexpected surges in demand and to replace unfit notes.[112] Production volumes are forecast jointly by the National Central Banks and the European Central Bank, and it needs to be approved by the Governing Council of the ECB.[112]
Printing works edit
There is a six-character printing code on every euro banknote which gives the printer of the note. These printing codes have an initial letter, followed by three digits, then by a single letter, and ending in a digit, for example, "R001A1".[113]
The initial letter identifies the printing facility[113] (the facilities are described below): "R" for example would be Bundesdruckerei, a printer in Berlin, Germany.[113] The three digits state sequential printing plates: "001", for example, would be the first printing plate created by the printer.[113] The fifth and sixth characters, a letter followed by a number, represent the row and column, respectively, of the particular banknote on the particular plate: "A" would be the first row and "1" the first column.[113][114]
Banknotes are printed in sheets. Different printers use different sheet sizes and sheets of higher denominations, which are larger in size, would have fewer notes printed per sheet. For example, two German printers print €5 banknotes in sheets of 60 (10 rows, designated "A" to "J" and six columns), the sheets of €10 notes have 54 banknotes (nine rows, six columns), and €20 banknotes are printed in sheets of 45 banknotes (nine rows, five columns).[113]
The printer code does not need to be the same as the country code, i.e. notes issued by a particular country may have been printed in another country.[113] The printers used to print euro banknotes include commercial printers as well as national printers, some of which have been privatised, some previously produced national notes before the adoption of the euro.[113] There is one former or current national printer in each of the countries which issue euro notes, with the exception of Germany, where the former East German and West German printers now produce euro notes.[113] France also has two printers,[113] F. C. Oberthur (a private printer) and the printing works of the Bank of France, and two more in the United Kingdom: Thomas De La Rue (another private printer) and the Bank of England printing house, although the latter does not produce euro banknotes.[113]
| Code | Printer | Location | Country | NCB(s) produced for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
(A) | (Bank of England Printing Works) | (Loughton) | ( United Kingdom) | — |
(B) | Unassigned | |||
(C) | (Tumba Bruk) | (Tumba) | ( Sweden) | — |
D | Setec Oy | Vantaa | Finland | L ( Finland) |
E | F. C. Oberthur | Chantepie | France | E ( Slovakia), F ( Malta), G ( Cyprus), H ( Slovenia), L ( Finland), P ( Netherlands), U ( France), X ( Germany) |
F | Österreichische Banknoten‐ und Sicherheitsdruck GmbH | Vienna | Austria | N ( Austria), P ( Netherlands), S ( Italy), T ( Ireland), Y ( Greece) |
G | Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé | Haarlem | Netherlands | E ( Slovakia), F ( Malta), G ( Cyprus), H ( Slovenia), L ( Finland), N ( Austria), P ( Netherlands), V ( Spain), X ( Germany), Y ( Greece) |
H | De La Rue | Gateshead | United Kingdom | L ( Finland), M ( Portugal), P ( Netherlands), T ( Ireland) |
(I) | Unassigned | |||
J | Banca d'Italia | Rome | Italy | S ( Italy) |
K | Banc Ceannais na hÉireann / Central Bank of Ireland | Dublin | Ireland | T ( Ireland) |
L | Banque de France | Chamalières | France | U ( France) |
M | Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre | Madrid | Spain | V ( Spain) |
N | Bank of Greece | Athens | Greece | Y ( Greece) |
(O) | Unassigned | |||
P | Giesecke & Devrient | Munich & Leipzig | Germany | L ( Finland), M ( Portugal), P ( Netherlands), U ( France), V ( Spain), X ( Germany), Y ( Greece) |
(Q) | Unassigned | |||
R | Bundesdruckerei | Berlin | Germany | D ( Estonia), E ( Slovakia), F ( Malta), G ( Cyprus), H ( Slovenia), L ( Finland), P ( Netherlands), X ( Germany), Y ( Greece) |
(S) | (Danmarks Nationalbank) | (Copenhagen) | ( Denmark) | — |
T | National Bank of Belgium | Brussels | Belgium | U ( France), V ( Spain), Z ( Belgium) |
U | Valora—Banco de Portugal | Carregado | Portugal | M ( Portugal) |
(V) | Unassigned | |||
(W) | Unassigned | |||
(X) | Unassigned | |||
(Y) | Unassigned | |||
(Z) | Unassigned | |||
- The A, C and S codes have been reserved for the British, Swedish and Danish printers not printing euro banknotes.[113]
- Where a printer is listed as producing banknotes for a particular country, this may apply to a single denomination, or as many as all seven denominations.[113] Some NCBs source different denominations from different printers,[113] and some source even a single denomination from multiple printers.[113] NCBs that issue banknotes are free to source from any authorized printers, and do so in varying quantities.[113]
Serial number edit
Unlike euro coins, euro notes do not have a national side indicating which country issued them. The country that issued them is not necessarily where they were printed. The information about the issuing country is encoded within the first character of each note's serial number instead.[17]
The first character of the serial number is a letter which uniquely identifies the country that issues the note.[17] The remaining 11 characters are numbers which, when their digital root is calculated, give a checksum also particular to that country.[115]
The W, K and J codes have been reserved for the three EU member states that did not adopt the euro in 1999, while the R prefix is reserved for Luxembourg, which, at present, does not issue euro banknotes.[17] The first series of uncirculated notes from Luxembourg use the prefix belonging to the country where they were printed.[17]
| Code | Country | Checksum(1) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| in English | in official language(s) | ||
| A | Unassigned | ||
| B | Lithuania | Lietuva[117] | |
| C | Latvia | Latvija[117] | |
| D | Estonia | Eesti | 4 |
| E | Slovakia | Slovensko | 3 |
| F | Malta | Malta | 2 |
| G | Cyprus | Κύπρος [Kypros]/Kıbrıs | 1 |
| H | Slovenia | Slovenija | 9 |
| I | Unassigned | ||
| J(2) | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | 7 |
| K(2) | Sweden | Sverige | 6 |
| L | Finland | Suomi/Finland | 5 |
| M | Portugal | Portugal | 4 |
| N | Austria | Österreich | 3 |
| O | Unassigned | ||
| P | Netherlands | Nederland | 1 |
| Q | Unassigned | ||
| R | Luxembourg | Luxembourg/Luxemburg/Lëtzebuerg | 8 |
| S | Italy | Italia | 7 |
| T | Ireland | Éire/Ireland | 6 |
| U | France | France | 5 |
| V | Spain | España | 4 |
| W(2) | Denmark | Danmark | 3 |
| X | Germany | Deutschland | 2 |
| Y | Greece | Ελλάδα [Ellada] | 1 |
| Z | Belgium | België/Belgique/Belgien | 9 |
(1) checksum of the 11 digits without the letter
(2) Denmark, the United Kingdom and Sweden presently do not use the Euro, but had these serial number prefixes reserved for the first series of notes.[17]
Although the Slovenian letter had been reserved since the eurozone enlargement in January 2007, the country initially used previously issued banknotes issued from other member states. The first banknotes bearing the "H" letter, produced in France specifically on behalf of Slovenia, were witnessed no sooner than April 2008.[118] The 'Cypriot banknotes' (G) appeared in circulation in November 2009, whereas, those from Malta (F) appeared 3 months later (February 2010).[119] Slovak notes (E) first appeared in October 2010[citation needed].
2nd series edit
In the new series, there are two codes, like in the first series. They are the printer code in the top right hand corner and the serial number.[120] Part of the serial number is horizontal and part of it is vertical.[121] The serial number begins with a letter indicating the printer, which is broadly similar to the first series (Z for Belgium, Y for Greece, etc.).[122] The second letter of the new serial numbers is part of the serial number itself, and has no further significance.[122]
However, as the code indicates the printer, rather than the issuing NCB, certain letters have been reassigned from NCBs which do not maintain their own printing facilities. In the first series, H denoted Slovenia. As there is no Slovene printer of euro banknotes, H represents De La Rue (Loughton) in the second series.[122] Several of the printers which replaced what were NCB codes maintain their printing code from the first series (De La Rue, mentioned, and Bundesdruckerei, which replaced Luxembourg as R, its previous printing code).[122]
| Code | Printer | Country |
|---|---|---|
| A | Unassigned | |
| B | Unassigned | |
| C | Unassigned | |
| D | Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych | Poland |
| E | Oberthur | France |
| F | Oberthur Fiduciaire AD Bulgaria | Bulgaria |
| G | Unassigned | |
| H | De La Rue (Loughton) | UK |
| I | Omitted[122] | |
| J | De La Rue (Gateshead) | UK |
| K | Unassigned | |
| L | Unassigned | |
| M | Valora | Portugal |
| N | Oesterreichische Banknoten‐ und Sicherheitsdruck GmbH | Austria |
| O | Omitted[122] | |
| P | Joh. Enschedé | Netherlands |
| Q | Omitted[122] | |
| R | Bundesdruckerei | Germany |
| S | Banca d'Italia | Italy |
| T | Central Bank of Ireland | Ireland |
| U | Banque de France | France |
| V | IMBISA (owned by Banco de España) | Spain |
| W | Giesecke+Devrient (Leipzig) | Germany |
| X | Giesecke+Devrient (Munich) | Germany |
| Y | Bank of Greece | Greece |
| Z | Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique | Belgium |
Production statistics edit
The European Central Bank publishes details about euro notes produced every year.[112]
| Denomination | Quantity (millions) | Value (€ millions) | NCBs commissioning production |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | 131.7 | 658.5 | Greece |
| €10 | - | - | - |
| €20 | 985.0 | 19,700.0 | Belgium, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Portugal |
| €50 | 1,645.0 | 82,250.0 | Estonia, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland |
| €100 | 220.0 | 22,000.0 | Germany |
| €200 | 160.0 | 32,000.0 | Germany |
| €500 | — | — | — |
| TOTAL | 3,141.7 | 156,608.5 | . |
| Denomination | Quantity (millions) | Value (€ millions) | NCBs commissioning production |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | 316.0 | 1,580.0 | France |
| €10 | 918.0 | 9,180.0 | Belgium, Germany, Greece, Austria |
| €20 | 1,215.0 | 24,300.0 | Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal |
| €50 | 2,767.0 | 138,350.0 | Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland |
| €100 | 420.0 | 42,000.0 | Germany |
| €200 | 452.0 | 90,400.0 | Germany |
| €500 | — | — | — |
| TOTAL | 6,088.0 | 305,810.0 | . |
| Denomination | Quantity (millions) | Value (€ millions) | NCBs commissioning production |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | 973.8 | 4,869.1 | Belgium, Spain, Austria, Portugal |
| €10 | 1,176.1 | 11,761.2 | Germany, Greece |
| €20 | 1,403.6 | 28,071.2 | Germany, Estonia, Ireland, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland |
| €50 | 1,951.4 | 97,572.0 | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania |
| €100 | - | - | - |
| €200 | 335.0 | 67,000.0 | Germany, Austria |
| €500 | — | — | — |
| TOTAL | 5,839.9 | 209,273.5 | . |
| Denomination | Quantity (millions) | Value (€ millions) | NCBs commissioning production |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | 751.6 | 3,757.8 | Belgium, Ireland, Austria, Portugal |
| €10 | 1,185.8 | 11,858.1 | Germany, Spain |
| €20 | 1,271.0 | 25,419.8 | Estonia, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland |
| €50 | 1,751.9 | 87,596.5 | Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria |
| €100 | 763.8 | 76,380 | Germany, Latvia, Lithuania |
| €200 | — | — | — |
| €500 | — | — | — |
| TOTAL | 5,724.1 | 205,012.2 | . |
| Denomination | Quantity (millions) | Value (€ millions) | NCBs commissioning production |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | 613.3 | 3,066 | Belgium, Spain, Austria, Portugal. |
| €10 | 424.6 | 4,245 | Germany. |
| €20 | 970.9 | 19,417 | Estonia, Ireland, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| €50 | 1729.2 | 86,457 | Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania. |
| €100 | — | — | — |
| €200 | — | — | — |
| €500 | — | — | — |
| TOTAL | 3,738 | 113,187.50 | Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| Denomination | Quantity (millions) | Value (€ millions) | NCBs commissioning production |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | 448.4 | 2,241 | Estonia, Greece, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| €10 | — | — | — |
| €20 | 526.5 | 10,530 | Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Portugal. |
| €50 | — | — | — |
| €100 | 2,300 | 230,000 | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria. |
| €200 | 715 | 143,000 | France, Italy, Austria. |
| €500 | — | — | — |
| TOTAL | 3,989.90 | 385,771.90 | Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| Denomination | Quantity (millions) | Value (€ millions) | NCBs commissioning production |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | 390 | 1,948 | Ireland, Greece. |
| €10 | — | — | — |
| €20 | 900 | 18,000 | France, Italy, Portugal. |
| €50 | 3,300 | 164,998 | Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| €100 | 850 | 85,002 | Germany, Spain, Austria. |
| €200 | 284 | 56,752 | Belgium, Germany. |
| €500 | — | — | — |
| TOTAL | 5,723 | 326,700 | Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| Denomination | Quantity (millions) | Value (€ millions) | NCBs commissioning production |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | — | — | — |
| €10 | 1,000 | 10,000 | Ireland, Greece, Spain, France. |
| €20 | 500 | 10,000 | France. |
| €50 | 4,541 | 227,050 | Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| €100 | 176 | 17,640 | Austria. |
| €200 | — | — | — |
| €500 | — | — | — |
| TOTAL | 6,217 | 264,690 | Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| Denomination | Quantity (millions) | Value (€ millions) | NCBs commissioning production |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | 600 | 3,000 | Belgium, Spain, Portugal. |
| €10 | 1,200 | 12,000 | Estonia, Ireland, Greece, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| €20 | 1,700 | 34,000 | Germany, France, Italy. |
| €50 | 2,500 | 125,000 | Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Latvia, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| €100 | — | — | — |
| €200 | — | — | — |
| €500 | — | — | — |
| TOTAL | 6,000 | 171,300 | Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| Denomination | Quantity (millions) | Value (€ millions) | NCBs commissioning production |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | 825 | 4,125 | Belgium, Greece, Spain, Ireland. |
| €10 | 94 | 940 | Greece. |
| €20 | 3,994 | 79,880 | Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal. |
| €50 | 2,800 | 140,000 | Belgium, Germany, Cyprus, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Malta, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland. |
| €100 | 500 | 50,000 | Germany. |
| €200 | 47 | 9,400 | Germany. |
| €500 | 85 | 42,500 | Austria. |
| TOTAL | 8,345 | 326,845 | euro, banknotes, banknotes, euro, common, currency, eurozone, euro, area, members, have, been, circulation, since, first, series, also, called, issued, 2002, they, issued, national, central, banks, eurosystem, european, central, bank, euro, established, 1999, . Banknotes of the euro the common currency of the eurozone euro area members have been in circulation since the first series also called ES1 was issued in 2002 They are issued by the national central banks of the Eurosystem or the European Central Bank 1 The euro was established in 1999 but for the first three years it was an invisible currency used for accounting purposes only e g in electronic payments 2 In 2002 notes and coins began to circulate The euro rapidly took over from the former national currencies and slowly expanded around the European Union Euro banknotes from the Europa series since 2013 Euro banknotes from the first series The Ages and Styles of Europe 2002 2013 Denominations of the notes range from 5 to 500 and unlike euro coins the design is identical across the whole of the eurozone although they are issued and printed in various member states The euro banknotes are pure cotton fibre which improves their durability as well as giving the banknotes a distinctive feel They measure from 120 by 62 millimetres 4 7 in 2 4 in to 160 by 82 millimetres 6 3 in 3 2 in and have a variety of color schemes The euro notes contain many complex security features such as watermarks invisible ink characteristics holograms optically variable inks and microprinting that document their authenticity While euro coins have a national side indicating the country of issue although not necessarily of minting euro notes lack this Instead this information is shown by the first character of each note s serial number According to European Central Bank estimates in July 2023 there were about 29 624 billion banknotes in circulation around the eurozone with a total value of about 1 569 trillion 3 On 8 November 2012 the ECB announced that the first series of notes would be replaced by the Europa series also called ES2 starting with the 5 euro note on 2 May 2013 4 This series does not have a 500 note as the ECB have decided to permanently cease its production over concerns that it could facilitate illicit activities 5 Estimates suggest that the average life of a euro banknote is about three years before replacement due to wear but with a wide variation by denomination level from less than a year for 5 banknotes to over 30 years for 500 banknotes on average High denomination banknotes 100 200 500 typically last longer as they are less frequently used The Europa series lower denomination 5 and 10 banknotes are designed to last longer thanks to additional coating 6 7 8 Contents 1 History 2 Specification 2 1 First series 2 2 Second series 2 3 Third series 3 Design 3 1 Bridges 3 2 Signature 3 3 Security features 3 4 Europa series 3 4 1 Security features 3 5 Features for people with impaired sight 3 6 Plans for a redesign 4 Circulation 4 1 Statistics 4 2 Counterfeiting 5 Legal information 6 Issuance and printing 6 1 1st series 6 1 1 Printing works 6 1 2 Serial number 6 2 2nd series 6 3 Production statistics 7 1 and 2 notes 8 0 notes 9 See also 10 References 11 External linksHistory editMain article History of the euro nbsp The euro is used in the 20 eurozone countries dark blue It is also used de facto in two other countries Kosovo and Montenegro light blue The euro came into existence on 1 January 1999 2 The euro s creation had been a goal of the European Union EU and its predecessors since the 1960s 2 The Maastricht Treaty entered into force in 1993 with the goal of creating economic and monetary union by 1999 for all EU states except the UK and Denmark though Denmark has a policy of a fixed exchange rate with the euro 9 Though the currency was born virtually in 1999 2 notes and coins did not begin to circulate until 2002 2 The euro rapidly took over from the former national currencies and slowly expanded around the growing EU 2 In 2009 the Lisbon Treaty formalised the euro s political authority the Eurogroup alongside the European Central Bank 10 Slovenia joined the eurozone in 2007 11 Cyprus and Malta in 2008 12 Slovakia in 2009 13 Estonia in 2011 14 Latvia in 2014 15 Lithuania in 2015 16 and Croatia in 2023 Specification editThere are seven different denominations of euro banknotes 5 10 20 50 100 200 and 500 Each has a distinctive colour and size 17 and displays examples of a historical European architectural style 17 18 windows or gateways on the obverse and bridges on the reverse 17 18 The architectural examples featured are stylised illustrations of the corresponding style rather than representations of existing structures 17 18 First series edit The following table depicts the design characteristics of the 1st series ES1 of euro notes Image Value Year Dimensions millimetres Main colour Design Printer code positionObverse Reverse Architecture Century nbsp nbsp 5 2002 120 62 mm Grey 19 Classical lt 5th Left image edge 20 nbsp nbsp 10 2002 127 67 mm Red 21 Romanesque 11 12th 8 o clock star 22 nbsp nbsp 20 2002 133 72 mm Blue 23 Gothic 12 14th 9 o clock star 24 nbsp nbsp 50 2002 140 77 mm Orange 25 Renaissance 15 16th Right image edge 26 nbsp nbsp 100 2002 147 82 mm Green 27 Baroque and Rococo 17 18th Right of 9 o clock star 28 nbsp nbsp 200 2002 153 82 mm Yellow 29 Art Nouveau 19 20th Above 7 o clock star 30 nbsp nbsp 500 2002 160 82 mm Purple 31 Modern architecture 20th century 20 21st 9 o clock star 32 These images are to scale at 0 7 pixel per millimetre For table standards see the banknote specification table All the notes of the initial series of euro notes bear the European flag a map of the continent on the reverse the name euro in both Latin and Greek script EURO EYRW and the signature of a president of the ECB depending on when the banknote was printed 17 18 The 12 stars from the flag are also incorporated into every note 17 18 The notes also carry the acronyms of the name of the European Central Bank in five linguistic variants covering all official languages of the EU in 2002 the time of the banknote introduction and now 19 out of 24 official languages of the EU27 in the following order 17 BCE French Banque centrale europeenne 33 Irish Banc Ceannais Eorpach 34 Italian Banca centrale europea 35 Portuguese Banco Central Europeu 36 Spanish Banco Central Europeo 37 ECB English European Central Bank 38 Danish Europaeiske Centralbank 39 Dutch Europese Centrale Bank 40 Swedish Europeiska centralbanken 41 EZB German Europaische Zentralbank 42 EKT Greek Eyrwpaikh Kentrikh Trapeza 43 EKP Finnish Euroopan keskuspankki 44 18 The order is determined by the EU country listing order 45 with BCE ahead of ECB because of the national precedence of Belgium s two main languages followed by the remaining languages of Germany Deutschland Greece Ellada Ellada 46 and Finland Suomi in that order The initial designs for the banknotes were chosen from 44 proposals in a design competition launched by the Council of the European Monetary Institute EMI on 12 February 1996 47 The winning entry created by Robert Kalina from the Oesterreichische Nationalbank was selected on 3 December 1996 47 The euro banknotes were made of pure cotton fibre which improves their durability as well as giving the banknotes a distinctive feel 48 In the first and Europa series the Azores French Guiana Guadeloupe Madeira Martinique Reunion and the Canary Islands overseas territories of the eurozone member states which also use the euro were shown under the map in separate boxes Cyprus and Malta were not shown on the first series because they were not in the EU in 2002 when the banknotes were issued even though they joined the eurozone in 2008 The map did not stretch as far east as Cyprus while Malta was too small to be depicted 18 Both Cyprus and Malta are however depicted on the Europa series note 4 Second series edit The following table depicts the design characteristics of the second series of euro banknotes ES2 also known as the Europa series after the holographic depiction of the mythological Europa common to these banknotes 49 Image Value Year Dimensions millimetres Main colour Design Printer code positionObverse Reverse Architecture Century nbsp nbsp 5 2013 120 62 mm Grey 50 Classical lt 5th Top right nbsp nbsp 10 2014 127 67 mm Red 51 Romanesque 11 12th Top right nbsp nbsp 20 2015 133 72 mm Blue 52 Gothic 12 14th Top right nbsp nbsp 50 2017 140 77 mm Orange 53 Renaissance 15 16th Top right nbsp nbsp 100 2019 147 77 mm Green 54 Baroque amp Rococo 17 18th Top right nbsp nbsp 200 2019 153 77 mm Yellow brown 55 Art Nouveau 19 20th Top rightThese images are to scale at 0 7 pixel per millimetre For table standards see the banknote specification table 100 euro note nbsp 147 x 77 mm ES2 nbsp 147 x 82 mm ES1 200 euro note nbsp 153 x 77 mm ES2 nbsp 153 x 82 mm ES1 The Europa series banknotes similarly to the first series bear the European flag a map of the continent on the reverse and the signature of Mario Draghi since 1 November 2011 president of the ECB The 12 stars from the flag are also incorporated into the notes 17 18 On 4 May 2016 the European Central Bank decided not to issue a 500 euro banknote for the Europa series 5 The series also bears the name of the currency in capital letters but in three scripts Latin EURO Greek EYRW and Cyrillic EVRO 4 The 2nd series 100 and 200 notes are a different size to the 100 and 200 notes from the 1st series Both denominations are now the same height 77 mm as the 50 banknote which makes them more comfortable to use Their length remains unchanged The design for the 50 100 and 200 euro notes features the acronyms of the name of the European Central Bank in ten linguistic variants covering all official languages of the European Union in the following order 4 BCE French Banque centrale europeenne 33 Irish Banc Ceannais Eorpach 56 Italian Banca centrale europea 35 Portuguese Banco Central Europeu 36 Romanian Banca Centrală Europeană 57 Spanish Banco Central Europeo 37 ECB English European Central Bank 38 Czech Evropska centralni banka 58 Danish Europaeiske Centralbank 39 Dutch Europese Centrale Bank 40 Latvian Eiropas Centrala banka 59 Lithuanian Europos Centrinis Bankas 60 Slovak Europska centralna banka 61 Slovene Evropska centralna banka 62 Swedish Europeiska centralbanken 41 ECB Bulgarian Evropejska centralna banka 63 EZB German Europaische Zentralbank 42 EKP Estonian Euroopa Keskpank 64 Finnish Euroopan keskuspankki 44 EKT Greek Eyrwpaikh Kentrikh Trapeza 43 ESB Croatian Europska sredisnja banka 65 EKB Hungarian Europai Kozponti Bank 66 BĊE Maltese Bank Ċentrali Ewropew 67 EBC Polish Europejski Bank Centralny 68 The 5 euro 10 euro and 20 euro notes do not feature ESB as Croatian became an official language only in July 2013 with the accession of Croatia after the introduction of the banknote design earlier that year The order in which the acronyms are shown is determined by the same principles as for Series 1 45 the language of Bulgaria Blgariya Bulgaria 46 precedes that of Germany Deutschland EKP now precedes EKT due to the accession of Estonia Eesti and the languages of Croatia Hrvatska Hungary Magyarorszag Malta and Poland Polska trail the list The notes of the Europa series do not show the same year The year shown is the year the note is issued The Europa series euro banknotes are supposedly more durable than the first series banknotes 4 Reinhold Gerstetter an independent banknote designer and one of participants of the 1996 design contest was chosen by the European Central Bank to redesign the euro notes 4 Third series edit In December 2021 the ECB announced plans to redesign euro banknotes by 2024 A theme advisory group made up of one member from each euro area country was selected to submit theme proposals to the ECB The proposals will be voted on by the public a design competition will also be held 69 In 2023 the ECB asked the public to vote on a theme for the new design 70 Design editBridges edit nbsp Banknotes printed from 2004 to 2012 show the signature of the second president of the ECB Jean Claude Trichet nbsp 20 and 50 euro banknotes ES1 nbsp Face of Europa on the new 20 euro banknote ES2 nbsp The 50 euro banknote ES1 has an orange colour scheme and its gateway and bridge are from the Renaissance 5 euro banknote under infrared light Europa series nbsp Obverse nbsp Reverse Due to the great number of historic bridges arches and gateways throughout the European continent all the structures represented on the notes are entirely stylised illustrations of the relevant architectural styles designed to evoke the landmarks within the European Union 17 representing various European ages and styles 17 For example the 5 euro note has a generic rendition of Classical architecture 17 the 10 euro note of Romanesque architecture 17 the 20 euro note of Gothic architecture 17 the 50 euro note of the Renaissance 17 the 100 euro note of Baroque and Rococo 17 the 200 euro note of Art Nouveau 17 and the 500 euro note of modern architecture 17 The initial designs by Robert Kalina were of actual bridges including the Rialto Bridge in Venice and the Pont de Neuilly in Paris and were subsequently rendered more generic 71 In 2011 Dutch artist Robin Stam and the town of Spijkenisse in the Netherlands built seven bridges of colored concrete after the designs on the seven euro banknotes 72 73 74 75 Signature edit Parts of this article those related to this section need to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information April 2022 nbsp Mario Draghi s signature on a 10 euro banknoteThe euro banknotes bear the signature of the President of the European Central Bank 18 Wim Duisenberg was the first ECB president when the first euro banknotes and coins were issued until 2003 18 Notes printed between November 2003 and March 2012 show the signature of Jean Claude Trichet the second President of the ECB 18 76 Banknotes printed after March 2012 bear the signature of the third ECB President Mario Draghi 18 From 2020 Christine Lagarde s signature will gradually begin to appear on banknotes entering circulation becoming the fourth signature to appear on euro banknotes 77 Security features edit nbsp Microprinting on a 100 euro note ES1 The European Central Bank has described some of the basic security features of the euro notes that allow the general public to recognise the authenticity of their currency at a glance For the first series the firm and crisp paper the raised print the watermark the security thread the see through number the hologram the micro perforations the glossy stripe for 20 and below the color changing number for 50 and above UV light infrared and the microprint 78 For the Europa series the firm and crisp paper the raised print the portrait watermark the security thread the emerald number the portrait hologram UV and UV C infrared and the microprint 79 However in the interest of advanced security of the euro notes the full list of these features is a closely guarded secret of the European Central Bank and the National Central Banks of the Eurosystem nbsp 5 ES1 holographic bandStill between the official descriptions and independent discoveries made by observant users it is thought that the euro notes have at least eleven different security features which are Holograms 78 The lower value notes carry a holographic band to the right of the obverse This band contains the denomination the euro sign the stars of the EU flag and perforations in the shape of the euro sign In the Europa series 5 banknote there is Europa a gate EURO and the euro sign the number 5 and perforations in the shape of a euro sign 80 The higher value notes include a holographic decal containing the denomination the obverse illustration microprinting and perforations in the shape of the euro sign Variable colour ink 78 This appears on the lower right hand side corner of the reverse of the higher value notes When observed from different angles the colour will change from purple to olive green or brown This special ink is also on the left bottom on the Europa series notes 80 Checksum Each note has a unique serial number The remainder from dividing the serial number by 9 gives checksum corresponding to the initial letter indicated on the note 81 Using a variation of the divisibility rule shortcut the remainder from division by 9 can easily be found by adding the constituent digits and if the sum still does not make the remainder obvious adding the digits of the sum 81 Alternatively substituting the letter with its ASCII value makes the resulting number exactly divisible by 9 Taking the same example Z10708476264 the ASCII code for Z is 90 so the resulting number is 9010708476264 Dividing by 9 yields a remainder of 0 Using the divisibility rule again the result can be checked speedily since the addition of all digits gives 54 5 4 9 so the number is divisible by 9 or 9010708476264 modulo 9 is 0 81 nbsp A 50 euro note ES1 under ultraviolet lightEURion constellation 82 Euro banknotes contain a pattern known as the EURion constellation that can be used to detect their identity as banknotes to prevent copying and counterfeiting Some photocopiers are programmed to reject images containing this pattern Watermarks There are possibly two watermarks on the euro notes 80 78 83 They are Standard watermark Each denomination is printed on uniquely watermarked paper This may be observed by holding the note up to the light The thinner parts will show up brighter with backlight illumination and darker with a dark background In the first series the standard watermark is a gate window that is depicted on the note and the denomination 78 for the 5 of the Europa series it is the face of Europa and the denomination as well 80 Digital watermark Like the EURion constellation a Digimarc digital watermark is embedded in the banknotes designs Recent versions of image editors such as Adobe Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro refuse to process banknotes 83 This system is called Counterfeit Deterrence System CDS and was developed by the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group Infrared and fluorescent printing patterns 78 When seen in the near infrared the banknotes will show darker areas in different zones depending on the denomination Ultraviolet light will make the EURion constellation show in sharper contrast and also some fluorescent fibres stand out nbsp A 5 euro note ES1 under infrared lightSecurity thread 78 A black magnetic thread in the centre of the note is only seen when held up to the light It features the denomination of the note along with the word euro in the Latin alphabet and the Greek alphabet Magnetic ink 78 Some areas of the euro notes feature magnetic ink For example the rightmost church window on the 20 note is magnetic as well as the large zero above it nbsp Magnetic serial number on euro banknote recorded using CMOS MagView Microprinting 78 The texture lines to the bottom like those aligned to the right of EYRW mark on the 5 note consist of the sequence EURO EYRW in microprinting Matted surface 78 The euro sign and the denomination are printed on a vertical band that is only visible when illuminated at an angle of 45 This only exists for the lower value notes Raised print On every banknote the initials of the ECB are in raised print In the first series every banknote has a bar with raised print lines On the 200 note of the first series there are lines at the bottom which are raised to allow blind people to identify the note On the 500 note of the first series these lines are on the right hand side 78 On the Europa series there are lines on both sides of the banknote 80 Bar code clarification needed 78 When held up to the light dark bars can be seen to the right of the watermark The number and width of these bars indicates the denomination of the note When scanned these bars are converted to Manchester code 84 Manchester code 84 Note Barcode Manchester 5 0110 10 100 10 0101 10 110 20 1010 1010 0000 50 0110 1010 1000 100 0101 1010 1100 200 0101 0110 1110 500 0101 0101 1111 looked at from the reverse a dark bar is 1 a bright bar 0 Europa series edit nbsp The portrait of Europa is also among the security features but the theme of the banknotes is still the same nbsp 5 euro note from the new Europa series written in Latin EURO and Greek EYRW alphabets but also in the Cyrillic EVRO alphabet as a result of Bulgaria joining the European Union in 2007The European Central Bank intends to redesign the notes every seven or eight years A new series called the Europa series was released from 2013 the first notes entered circulation on 2 May 2013 85 The new series includes slight changes notably the inclusion of the face of the mythological princess Europa in the watermark and in the hologram stripe 86 New production and anti counterfeiting techniques are employed on the new notes but the design shares the colours of the first series and the theme of bridges and arches 85 The new notes are nonetheless recognisable as a new series 87 The new notes also reflect the expansion of the European Union every member of the EU is depicted on it The initial series did not include the recent members Cyprus and Malta Cyprus was off the map to the east and Malta was too small to be depicted 18 The Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet features on the Europa series banknotes as a result of Bulgaria joining the European Union in 2007 Thus this series includes EVRO which is the Bulgarian spelling for EURO as well as the abbreviation ECB short for Evropejska centralna banka in Bulgarian 88 while set to join the eurozone and abandon Bulgarian lev in 2024 The new banknotes also feature the Maltese abbreviation BĊE Bank Ċentrali Ewropew inconsistent with the above the Hungarian abbreviation EKB Europai Kozponti Bank and the Polish abbreviation EBC Europejski Bank Centralny The modified 5 euro note features the initials of the European Central Bank in each of the contemporary EU member languages in a column on the left hand side of the obverse 88 The word euro in Latin Greek and Cyrillic lettering has also been moved to a more central position 88 The full design of the Europa series 5 euro banknote was revealed on 10 January 2013 89 The new note entered circulation on 2 May 2013 90 The full design of the Europa series 10 euro note was revealed on 13 January 2014 and it entered circulation on 23 September 2014 91 The full design of the Europa series 20 euro banknote was revealed on 24 February 2015 92 93 and it was launched on 25 November 2015 92 The full design of the Europa series 50 euro note was revealed on 5 July 2016 94 and the new 50 note was released on 4 April 2017 95 96 The full design of the Europa series 100 euro banknote and 200 euro banknote was revealed on 17 September 2018 and the new notes entered circulation on 28 May 2019 97 therefore will complete the issuance of the Europa series 98 On 4 May 2016 the European Central Bank announced that a Europa series 500 euro banknote would not be released due to fears of facilitating criminal activity 5 99 100 The ECB has decided to stop producing the 500 banknote although the first series 500 remains legal tender 98 The old series will gradually be withdrawn 98 The ECB will announce well in advance when the old notes will lose their legal tender status 98 However they will not lose their value and it will be possible to exchange them for new notes at Eurosystem central banks indefinitely 85 98 Security features edit nbsp Microprinting on the Europa series 5 euro noteWatermark When the note is held under a normal light source a portrait of Europa and an electrotype denomination appear on either side 85 101 Portrait hologram When the note is tilted the silver coloured holographic stripe reveals the portrait of Europa the same one as in the watermark The stripe also reveals a window and the value of the banknote 85 101 Colour changing ink When the note is tilted the number on the note displays an effect of light that moves up and down The number also changes colour from emerald green to deep blue 85 101 Raised printing On the front of the note there is a series of short raised lines on the left and right edges The main edge the lettering and the large value numeral also feel thicker 85 101 Security thread When the note is held against the light the security thread appears as a dark line The euro symbol and the value of the banknote can be seen in tiny white lettering in the thread 85 101 Microprinting Tiny letters which can be read with a magnifying glass The letters should be sharp not blurred 101 Ultraviolet ink Some parts of the banknote shine when under UV or UV C light These are the stars in the flag the small circles the large stars and several other areas on the front On the back a quarter of a circle in the centre as well as several other areas glow green The horizontal serial number and a stripe appear in red 101 Infrared light Under infrared light the emerald number the right side of the main image and the silvery stripe are visible on the obverse of the banknote while on the reverse only the denomination and the horizontal serial number are visible 101 Features for people with impaired sight edit A good design for the blind and partially sighted is a good design for everybody was the principle behind the cooperation of the European Central Bank and the European Blind Union during the design phase of the first series banknotes in the 1990s 102 As a result the design of the first euro banknotes include several characteristics which help both the blind and partially sighted to use the notes with greater confidence 102 Features for blind and visually impaired users include Different banknote sizes the bigger the value the larger the note 102 Clearly contrasting striking banknote colours The 5 note is grey the 10 note red the 20 note blue the 50 note orange the 100 note green the 200 note yellow brown and the 500 note is purple 102 Large numerals for the denomination 102 Raised print 102 Tactile marks on the 200 and 500 of the first series and on all the notes of the Europa series 80 102 As in the design process of the first series of euro notes visually impaired users were consulted during the design phase of the Europa series and their feedback included in the final designs 80 Plans for a redesign edit On 6 December 2021 the European Central Bank announced its intention to redesign the banknotes 103 ECB President Christine Lagarde stated in a press release that it was time to review the look of the banknotes and make them more relatable to the public A 19 member advisory board with one member from each eurozone member state was appointed and tasked with proposing a shortlist of themes for the new banknotes After consultations with the public a theme for the new notes will be chosen A design competition for the new banknotes will follow after which the ECB will again consult the public Motifs will be proposed by 2024 and the final decision on the redesign is expected to be taken in 2026 Plans for the timing of introduction and possible phaseout of older banknotes have not been announced On 30 November 2023 the ECB announced that the new theme for future banknotes had been narrowed down to either European culture or rivers and birds 104 Circulation editThe European Central Bank closely monitors the circulation and stock of euro coins and banknotes It is a task of the Eurosystem to ensure an efficient and smooth supply of euro notes and to maintain their integrity throughout the eurozone 3 Statistics edit nbsp Every month the European Central Bank publishes the number of banknotes in circulation around the eurozone As of July 2023 there were about 29 624 million banknotes in circulation around the eurozone 3 totalling about 1 569 trillion worth of banknotes 3 The July 2023 breakdown is as follows Note Approx no of notes in circulation billions 3 Value billions 3 Share of total quantity 105 Share of total value 106 5 2 159 10 8 7 3 0 7 10 3 033 30 3 10 2 1 9 20 4 837 96 7 16 3 6 2 50 14 523 726 1 49 0 46 3 100 3 942 394 2 13 3 25 1 200 0 849 169 9 2 9 10 8 500 0 281 140 5 0 9 9 0Figures since 2012 Date Banknotes millions Value billions December 2012 15 687 912 6December 2013 16 512 956 2December 2014 17 528 1 016 5December 2015 18 895 1 083 4December 2016 20 220 1 126 2December 2017 21 407 1 170 7December 2018 22 615 1 231 1December 2019 24 057 1 292 7December 2020 26 494 1 434 5December 2021 28 188 1 544 4December 2022 29 450 1 572 0Counterfeiting edit The European Central Bank publishes information on the amount of counterfeit banknotes removed from circulation every 6 months 107 In 2009 the ECB reported the highest ever amount of counterfeits with 860 000 removed items a rate of 64 per million banknotes in circulation According to an investigation of the University of Lausanne the ratio of counterfeited banknotes was about 10 in one million real banknotes for the Swiss franc of 100 in one million for United States dollar and of 300 in one million for pound sterling 108 In 2011 606 000 euro counterfeits were removed from circulation 41 per million In 2012 it was lower at 531 000 euro counterfeits 34 per million 109 In 2014 the ECB removed 838 000 counterfeit euro banknotes from circulation 48 per million 110 Since then these values have continuously decreased mainly due to the improved security features of the Europa series In 2021 347 000 euro counterfeits were seized equivalent to a rate of 12 counterfeits per million banknotes in circulation The majority of counterfeit items were 50 33 8 and 20 32 1 banknotes 111 Legal information editLegally both the European Central Bank and the national central banks NCBs of the eurozone countries have the right to issue the seven different euro banknotes 2 In practice only the NCBs of the zone physically issue and withdraw euro notes 2 The European Central Bank does not have a cash office and is not involved in any cash operations 2 However the European Central Bank is responsible for overseeing the activities of national central banks in order to harmonise cash services in the eurozone 2 Issuance and printing editThe ECB has the exclusive right to authorise the issue of notes within the eurozone but most notes are actually issued by the National Central Banks NCBs of the eurozone 1 As of 2004 8 of banknotes issues were allocated to the European Central Bank and 92 were allocated to eurozone NCBs in practice the ECB issues no notes and the NCBs issues may deviate from the statutory allocation 1 The issuing central bank can be seen on the banknote serial number Each NCB is now responsible for the production of certain denominations as assigned by the ECB 1 1st series edit Since 2002 euro notes have been printed by the National Central Banks of the eurozone with each Central Bank being responsible for and bearing the cost of producing a proportion of the notes 112 The production of notes needs to be sufficient to meet expected and unexpected surges in demand and to replace unfit notes 112 Production volumes are forecast jointly by the National Central Banks and the European Central Bank and it needs to be approved by the Governing Council of the ECB 112 Printing works edit nbsp The printing code on a 10 euro note from the first banknote seriesThere is a six character printing code on every euro banknote which gives the printer of the note These printing codes have an initial letter followed by three digits then by a single letter and ending in a digit for example R001A1 113 The initial letter identifies the printing facility 113 the facilities are described below R for example would be Bundesdruckerei a printer in Berlin Germany 113 The three digits state sequential printing plates 001 for example would be the first printing plate created by the printer 113 The fifth and sixth characters a letter followed by a number represent the row and column respectively of the particular banknote on the particular plate A would be the first row and 1 the first column 113 114 Banknotes are printed in sheets Different printers use different sheet sizes and sheets of higher denominations which are larger in size would have fewer notes printed per sheet For example two German printers print 5 banknotes in sheets of 60 10 rows designated A to J and six columns the sheets of 10 notes have 54 banknotes nine rows six columns and 20 banknotes are printed in sheets of 45 banknotes nine rows five columns 113 The printer code does not need to be the same as the country code i e notes issued by a particular country may have been printed in another country 113 The printers used to print euro banknotes include commercial printers as well as national printers some of which have been privatised some previously produced national notes before the adoption of the euro 113 There is one former or current national printer in each of the countries which issue euro notes with the exception of Germany where the former East German and West German printers now produce euro notes 113 France also has two printers 113 F C Oberthur a private printer and the printing works of the Bank of France and two more in the United Kingdom Thomas De La Rue another private printer and the Bank of England printing house although the latter does not produce euro banknotes 113 Printer identification codes 113 Code Printer Location Country NCB s produced for A Bank of England Printing Works Loughton nbsp United Kingdom B Unassigned C Tumba Bruk Tumba nbsp Sweden D Setec Oy Vantaa nbsp Finland L nbsp Finland E F C Oberthur Chantepie nbsp France E nbsp Slovakia F nbsp Malta G nbsp Cyprus H nbsp Slovenia L nbsp Finland P nbsp Netherlands U nbsp France X nbsp Germany F Osterreichische Banknoten und Sicherheitsdruck GmbH Vienna nbsp Austria N nbsp Austria P nbsp Netherlands S nbsp Italy T nbsp Ireland Y nbsp Greece G Koninklijke Joh Enschede Haarlem nbsp Netherlands E nbsp Slovakia F nbsp Malta G nbsp Cyprus H nbsp Slovenia L nbsp Finland N nbsp Austria P nbsp Netherlands V nbsp Spain X nbsp Germany Y nbsp Greece H De La Rue Gateshead nbsp United Kingdom L nbsp Finland M nbsp Portugal P nbsp Netherlands T nbsp Ireland I UnassignedJ Banca d Italia Rome nbsp Italy S nbsp Italy K Banc Ceannais na hEireann Central Bank of Ireland Dublin nbsp Ireland T nbsp Ireland L Banque de France Chamalieres nbsp France U nbsp France M Fabrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre Madrid nbsp Spain V nbsp Spain N Bank of Greece Athens nbsp Greece Y nbsp Greece O UnassignedP Giesecke amp Devrient Munich amp Leipzig nbsp Germany L nbsp Finland M nbsp Portugal P nbsp Netherlands U nbsp France V nbsp Spain X nbsp Germany Y nbsp Greece Q UnassignedR Bundesdruckerei Berlin nbsp Germany D nbsp Estonia E nbsp Slovakia F nbsp Malta G nbsp Cyprus H nbsp Slovenia L nbsp Finland P nbsp Netherlands X nbsp Germany Y nbsp Greece S Danmarks Nationalbank Copenhagen nbsp Denmark T National Bank of Belgium Brussels nbsp Belgium U nbsp France V nbsp Spain Z nbsp Belgium U Valora Banco de Portugal Carregado nbsp Portugal M nbsp Portugal V Unassigned W Unassigned X Unassigned Y Unassigned Z UnassignedThe A C and S codes have been reserved for the British Swedish and Danish printers not printing euro banknotes 113 Where a printer is listed as producing banknotes for a particular country this may apply to a single denomination or as many as all seven denominations 113 Some NCBs source different denominations from different printers 113 and some source even a single denomination from multiple printers 113 NCBs that issue banknotes are free to source from any authorized printers and do so in varying quantities 113 Serial number edit nbsp The serial number on a 50 euro note This banknote was issued for Banca d Italia the Italian central bank Unlike euro coins euro notes do not have a national side indicating which country issued them The country that issued them is not necessarily where they were printed The information about the issuing country is encoded within the first character of each note s serial number instead 17 The first character of the serial number is a letter which uniquely identifies the country that issues the note 17 The remaining 11 characters are numbers which when their digital root is calculated give a checksum also particular to that country 115 The W K and J codes have been reserved for the three EU member states that did not adopt the euro in 1999 while the R prefix is reserved for Luxembourg which at present does not issue euro banknotes 17 The first series of uncirculated notes from Luxembourg use the prefix belonging to the country where they were printed 17 National identification codes 116 81 Code Country Checksum 1 in English in official language s A UnassignedB nbsp Lithuania Lietuva 117 C nbsp Latvia Latvija 117 D nbsp Estonia Eesti 4E nbsp Slovakia Slovensko 3F nbsp Malta Malta 2G nbsp Cyprus Kypros Kypros Kibris 1H nbsp Slovenia Slovenija 9I UnassignedJ 2 nbsp United Kingdom United Kingdom 7K 2 nbsp Sweden Sverige 6L nbsp Finland Suomi Finland 5M nbsp Portugal Portugal 4N nbsp Austria Osterreich 3O UnassignedP nbsp Netherlands Nederland 1Q UnassignedR nbsp Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxemburg Letzebuerg 8S nbsp Italy Italia 7T nbsp Ireland Eire Ireland 6U nbsp France France 5V nbsp Spain Espana 4W 2 nbsp Denmark Danmark 3X nbsp Germany Deutschland 2Y nbsp Greece Ellada Ellada 1Z nbsp Belgium Belgie Belgique Belgien 9 1 checksum of the 11 digits without the letter 2 Denmark the United Kingdom and Sweden presently do not use the Euro but had these serial number prefixes reserved for the first series of notes 17 Although the Slovenian letter had been reserved since the eurozone enlargement in January 2007 the country initially used previously issued banknotes issued from other member states The first banknotes bearing the H letter produced in France specifically on behalf of Slovenia were witnessed no sooner than April 2008 118 The Cypriot banknotes G appeared in circulation in November 2009 whereas those from Malta F appeared 3 months later February 2010 119 Slovak notes E first appeared in October 2010 citation needed 2nd series edit nbsp The serial number on a 5 euro note This banknote was printed in Fabrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre in Spain In the new series there are two codes like in the first series They are the printer code in the top right hand corner and the serial number 120 Part of the serial number is horizontal and part of it is vertical 121 The serial number begins with a letter indicating the printer which is broadly similar to the first series Z for Belgium Y for Greece etc 122 The second letter of the new serial numbers is part of the serial number itself and has no further significance 122 However as the code indicates the printer rather than the issuing NCB certain letters have been reassigned from NCBs which do not maintain their own printing facilities In the first series H denoted Slovenia As there is no Slovene printer of euro banknotes H represents De La Rue Loughton in the second series 122 Several of the printers which replaced what were NCB codes maintain their printing code from the first series De La Rue mentioned and Bundesdruckerei which replaced Luxembourg as R its previous printing code 122 Identification codes 122 Code Printer CountryA UnassignedB UnassignedC UnassignedD Polska Wytwornia Papierow Wartosciowych nbsp PolandE Oberthur nbsp FranceF Oberthur Fiduciaire AD Bulgaria nbsp BulgariaG UnassignedH De La Rue Loughton nbsp UKI Omitted 122 J De La Rue Gateshead nbsp UKK UnassignedL UnassignedM Valora nbsp PortugalN Oesterreichische Banknoten und Sicherheitsdruck GmbH nbsp AustriaO Omitted 122 P Joh Enschede nbsp NetherlandsQ Omitted 122 R Bundesdruckerei nbsp GermanyS Banca d Italia nbsp ItalyT Central Bank of Ireland nbsp IrelandU Banque de France nbsp FranceV IMBISA owned by Banco de Espana nbsp SpainW Giesecke Devrient Leipzig nbsp GermanyX Giesecke Devrient Munich nbsp GermanyY Bank of Greece nbsp GreeceZ Nationale Bank van Belgie Banque Nationale de Belgique nbsp BelgiumProduction statistics edit The European Central Bank publishes details about euro notes produced every year 112 Banknotes produced in 2023 112 Denomination Quantity millions Value millions NCBs commissioning production 5 131 7 658 5 nbsp Greece 10 20 985 0 19 700 0 nbsp Belgium nbsp Germany nbsp Italy nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania nbsp Austria nbsp Portugal 50 1 645 0 82 250 0 nbsp Estonia nbsp Ireland nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Cyprus nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 100 220 0 22 000 0 nbsp Germany 200 160 0 32 000 0 nbsp Germany 500 TOTAL 3 141 7 156 608 5 Banknotes produced in 2022 112 Denomination Quantity millions Value millions NCBs commissioning production 5 316 0 1 580 0 nbsp France 10 918 0 9 180 0 nbsp Belgium nbsp Germany nbsp Greece nbsp Austria 20 1 215 0 24 300 0 nbsp Belgium nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Portugal 50 2 767 0 138 350 0 nbsp Germany nbsp Estonia nbsp Ireland nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Cyprus nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 100 420 0 42 000 0 nbsp Germany 200 452 0 90 400 0 nbsp Germany 500 TOTAL 6 088 0 305 810 0 Banknotes produced in 2021 112 Denomination Quantity millions Value millions NCBs commissioning production 5 973 8 4 869 1 nbsp Belgium nbsp Spain nbsp Austria nbsp Portugal 10 1 176 1 11 761 2 nbsp Germany nbsp Greece 20 1 403 6 28 071 2 nbsp Germany nbsp Estonia nbsp Ireland nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Cyprus nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 50 1 951 4 97 572 0 nbsp Germany nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania 100 200 335 0 67 000 0 nbsp Germany nbsp Austria 500 TOTAL 5 839 9 209 273 5 Banknotes produced in 2020 112 Denomination Quantity millions Value millions NCBs commissioning production 5 751 6 3 757 8 nbsp Belgium nbsp Ireland nbsp Austria nbsp Portugal 10 1 185 8 11 858 1 nbsp Germany nbsp Spain 20 1 271 0 25 419 8 nbsp Estonia nbsp France nbsp Cyprus nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 50 1 751 9 87 596 5 nbsp Greece nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Austria 100 763 8 76 380 nbsp Germany nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania 200 500 TOTAL 5 724 1 205 012 2 Banknotes produced in 2019 112 Denomination Quantity millions Value millions NCBs commissioning production 5 613 3 3 066 nbsp Belgium nbsp Spain nbsp Austria nbsp Portugal 10 424 6 4 245 nbsp Germany 20 970 9 19 417 nbsp Estonia nbsp Ireland nbsp France nbsp Cyprus nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 50 1729 2 86 457 nbsp Germany nbsp Greece nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania 100 200 500 TOTAL 3 738 113 187 50 nbsp Belgium nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Austria nbsp Germany nbsp Greece nbsp Ireland nbsp Portugal nbsp Cyprus nbsp Estonia nbsp Malta nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland Banknotes produced in 2018 112 Denomination Quantity millions Value millions NCBs commissioning production 5 448 4 2 241 nbsp Estonia nbsp Greece nbsp Cyprus nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 10 20 526 5 10 530 nbsp Belgium nbsp Ireland nbsp Spain nbsp Portugal 50 100 2 300 230 000 nbsp Germany nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania nbsp Austria 200 715 143 000 nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Austria 500 TOTAL 3 989 90 385 771 90 nbsp Belgium nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Austria nbsp Germany nbsp Greece nbsp Ireland nbsp Portugal nbsp Cyprus nbsp Estonia nbsp Malta nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland Banknotes produced in 2017 112 Denomination Quantity millions Value millions NCBs commissioning production 5 390 1 948 nbsp Ireland nbsp Greece 10 20 900 18 000 nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Portugal 50 3 300 164 998 nbsp Belgium nbsp Germany nbsp Estonia nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Cyprus nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp the Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 100 850 85 002 nbsp Germany nbsp Spain nbsp Austria 200 284 56 752 nbsp Belgium nbsp Germany 500 TOTAL 5 723 326 700 nbsp Belgium nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Austria nbsp Germany nbsp Greece nbsp Ireland nbsp Portugal nbsp Cyprus nbsp Estonia nbsp Malta nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland Banknotes produced in 2016 112 Denomination Quantity millions Value millions NCBs commissioning production 5 10 1 000 10 000 nbsp Ireland nbsp Greece nbsp Spain nbsp France 20 500 10 000 nbsp France 50 4 541 227 050 nbsp Belgium nbsp Germany nbsp Estonia nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Cyprus nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp the Netherlands nbsp Portugal nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 100 176 17 640 nbsp Austria 200 500 TOTAL 6 217 264 690 nbsp Belgium nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Austria nbsp Germany nbsp Greece nbsp Ireland nbsp Portugal nbsp Cyprus nbsp Estonia nbsp Malta nbsp Latvia nbsp Lithuania nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland Banknotes produced in 2015 112 Denomination Quantity millions Value millions NCBs commissioning production 5 600 3 000 nbsp Belgium nbsp Spain nbsp Portugal 10 1 200 12 000 nbsp Estonia nbsp Ireland nbsp Greece nbsp France nbsp Cyprus nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp the Netherlands nbsp Austria nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 20 1 700 34 000 nbsp Germany nbsp France nbsp Italy 50 2 500 125 000 nbsp Belgium nbsp Germany nbsp Estonia nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Cyprus nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Malta nbsp the Netherlands nbsp Latvia nbsp Portugal nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 100 200 500 TOTAL 6 000 171 300 nbsp Belgium nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Austria nbsp Germany nbsp Greece nbsp Ireland nbsp Portugal nbsp Cyprus nbsp Estonia nbsp Malta nbsp Latvia nbsp Luxembourg nbsp Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland Banknotes produced in 2014 112 Denomination Quantity millions Value millions NCBs commissioning production 5 825 4 125 nbsp Belgium nbsp Greece nbsp Spain nbsp Ireland 10 94 940 nbsp Greece 20 3 994 79 880 nbsp Germany nbsp Spain nbsp France nbsp Italy nbsp Austria nbsp Portugal 50 2 800 140 000 nbsp Belgium nbsp Germany nbsp Cyprus nbsp Estonia nbsp Spain nbsp Italy nbsp Malta nbsp Luxembourg nbsp the Netherlands nbsp Slovenia nbsp Slovakia nbsp Finland 100 500 50 000 nbsp Germany 200 47 9 400 nbsp Germany 500 85 42 500 nbsp Austria TOTAL 8 345 326 845 span, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library, article, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games. |