The number of counterfeit notes in circulation is increasingly low, according to the European Central Bank. With only 16 counterfeits per million authentic banknotes, the euro is one of the safest currencies in the world.
Do you think you have a counterfeit note in your hands? The chances of recovering a counterfeit note are however very low, assured the European Central Bank in a press release this Monday, January 29. With 467,000 counterfeit notes withdrawn from circulation (compared to 376,000 in 2022), the year 2023 is still below pre‐Covid‐19 levels, assures the ECB. However, it should be noted that the number of counterfeit notes has increased slightly in recent years, going from 12 counterfeit banknotes per million genuine banknotes in 2021 to 16 in 2023. The majority of the seized banknotes were 20 and 50 euro notes.
The euro, one of the safest currencies in the world?
The euro banknotes used by the French in their daily lives are among the safest currencies in the world, assures the ECB, which explains that this situation is the result of continuous work to improve the security present on bank notes from the Eurosystem. The second series of euros, put into circulation between 2013 and 2019, largely contributed to the drop in the number of counterfeits.
How to recognize a counterfeit note? According to the ECB, Since counterfeits contain no safety features, or only very poor imitations, most of them are easy to detect. However, it is still possible to simply check whether a note is counterfeit or not by touching it, looking at it carefully or tilting it. The European Central Bank also publishes on its website tips for recognizing a counterfeit note.
The Banque de France reminds that counterfeiting or falsification of bank notes is an offense punishable by thirty years of criminal imprisonment and a fine of 450,000 euros. The transport, circulation or detention with a view to circulation of counterfeit, falsified or irregularly manufactured monetary signs is punishable by ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros.