Euro banknotes

The euro (EUR or €) is the single currency for most nations within the European Union. Euro banknotes and coins (see Euro coins) came into circulation on January 1, 2002, though the Euro itself had been formally established as a unit of exchange on January 1, 1999.

=Denominations=

There are seven different denominations, each having a distinctive colour and size. The design for each of them has a common theme of European architecture in various artistic periods. The front (or recto) of the note features windows or gateways while the back (or verso) has bridges. Care has been taken so that the architectural examples do not represent any actual existing monument, so as not to induce jealousy and controversy in the choice of which monument should be depicted.

Common to all notes are the European flag, the initials of the European Central Bank in five versions (BCE, ECB, EZB, ΕΚΤ, EKP), a map of Europe on the back, the name "euro" in both Latin and Greek script and the signature of the current president of the ECB. The 12 stars of the EU are also incorporated into every note, with the first design having been created by Austrian artist Robert Kalina.

=Banknote pictures=

Description of euro banknotes

Denomination	Dimensions	Dominant Colour	Architecture	Period	Printercode position
5 euro | € 5	120 x 62 mm	Gray	Classical	< 5th century	left image edge
10 euro | € 10	127 x 67 mm	Red	Romanesque	11-12th centuries	8 o'clock star
20 euro | € 20	133 x 72 mm	Blue	Gothic	13-14th centuries	9 o'clock star
50 euro | € 50	140 x 77 mm	Orange	Renaissance	15-16th centuries	right image edge
100 euro | € 100	147 x 82 mm	Green	Baroque & Rococo	17-18th centuries	right of 9 o'clock star
200 euro | € 200	153 x 82 mm	Yellow-brown	Iron & Glass	19-20th centuries	above 7 o'clock star
500 euro | € 500	160 x 82 mm	Purple	Modern	20-21th centuries	9 o'clock star

Depiction of euro banknotes

Front (recto, obverse)	Value	Back (verso, reverse)
	€ 5
	€ 10
	€ 20
	€ 50
	€ 100
	€ 200
	€ 500

Some member overseas territories are shown, for instance, the Azores,the Canary Islands, French Guyana... Cyprus and Malta are not present in current issues.

= Security features= The ECB has not made public every detail of the notes for security reasons. It is thought that at least 30 different security features exist.

So far, these are the only known by the citizens, or discovered by anonymous users:

Holograms: the &euro 5,10,20 notes carry an holographic band to the right of the front side. This band is a succession of the symbol &euro and the note value. For instance, the &euro 5 notes carries "&euro 5 &euro 5 &euro 5 ....".

For &euro 50 to &euro 500, an hologram sticker is used instead.

Variable colour ink: on the lowed right corner of back side of the &euro 50,100,200 and 500 denominations, a special ink is used. When looked from a different angle, the colur changes. That is , from purple to green.

Checksum: each note has a unique serial number. The following is an extract from the europa.union.euro FAQ that explains how to check the validity of a serial number:

1 - Replace the initial letter by its position in the alphabet (that is L

 is 12, M is 13, ..., Z is 26).

 last).  For example:

 U08217383936 is 21 + 0 + 8 + 2 + 1 + 7 + 3 + 8 + 3 + 9 + 3 = 65

 necessary until you obtain a one-digit number.  Now substract this

 number from 8.  The resulting number must be the same as the last

 digit -- in the example above, 8 - 2 = 6.

Watermarks: a picture is found on the left of the front side. In order to see it, one must hold the note against a light source and

Coincidence: the digits that indicate the value of the note coincide from both sides.

Feel: some areas of the notes have a different touch from others. the BCE ECB EZB text is one of them.

Bar code: under a light source, some metallic bars can be seen to the right of the watermark. The number of bars depends on the value of the note. Not all bars have the same width. When scanned, these bars are converted to Manchester code.

Manchester code

Note	Barcode	Manchester
&euro 5	0110 10	100
&euro 10	0101 101	110
&euro 20	1010 1010	0000
&euro 50	0110 1010	1000
&euro 100	0101 1010	1100
&euro 200	0101 0110	1110
&euro 500	0101 0101	1111

EURion constellation: Euro banknotes contain a pattern known as the EURion constellation which can be used to detect their identity as banknotes to prevent copying. This feature prevents the user from scanning notes, or even printing. It was discovered after some users tried to scan euro banknotes in image editors such as Adobe Photoshop, or Paint Shop Pro.

Security Thread: a black thread in the middle of the note is seen only against a light source. It tells how much the note is worth, along with the word "euro".

Magnetic ink: some areas feature magnetic ink. The rightmost church window on the &euro 20 note is magnetic, as well as the large zero above it. The security thread is equally magnetic, but of course that's no ink.

=Serial Number= Unlike the euro coins, the euro notes do not have a national side indicating where they're from. This information is instead contained within the code on the back of the note(serial number) and the printing works (see below).

The first letter of the serial number uniquely identifies the country that issues the note. The remaining numbers (when added up and the digits of the resulting sum then added together again until a single digit remains) give a checksum also particular to that country. The W, K and J codes have been reserved for the EU member states currently not participating in the euro.

Country letters

As from 2002, the individual national central banks (NCBs) are responsible for the production of one or two specific banknote denominations and will thus select the printing works. This decentralised pooling scheme means that the NCBs have to exchange the denominations produced in different locations prior to issue.

Design changes & smaller euro denominations

The design of the banknotes will not change after the expansion of the European Union to the east in 2004 (for example, the map will not show Cyprus). Newer designs will likely be issued at the end of the decade. Like the pre-euro currencies, the new series will start from the lower denominations.

External links

• European Central Bank
• ECB Euro notes and coins FAQ
• EuroBillTracker
• Eurotracer
• myeuro.info
• newsgroup