Increase in counterfeit bank notes across EU reported

A total of 447,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation across the EU in the second half of last year, the European Central Bank said today. This was an increase of around 8% on the quantity recovered in the previous six months.

The bank said the number of counterfeit euro banknotes had risen, although more slowly than in the previous six-month periods.

"When compared with the increasing number of genuine euro banknotes in circulation (on average 12.8 billion during the second half of 2009), the proportion of counterfeits is still very low," the ECB said.

Nevertheless, the Eurosystem - i.e. the European Central Bank (ECB) and the 16 national central banks of the euro area - continues to advise the public to remain alert when receiving banknotes in cash transactions.

As in the previous half-year, the €20 banknote was the most counterfeited denomination, accounting for almost half of all counterfeits identified. The second most counterfeited denomination was the €50 banknote, which accounted for approximately one-third of the total. The three mid-range denominations (€20, €50 and €100) together accounted for 97% of all counterfeits. The proportion of high denomination counterfeits (€200 and €500) is very low.

The majority (more than 98%) of counterfeits recovered in the second half of 2009 were found in euro area countries, with only around 1% being found in EU Member States outside the euro area and less than 0.5% being found in other parts of the world.

Euro coin counterfeiting

In 2009, the number of counterfeit euro coins removed from circulation was 172 100, down from 195 900 the year before. This second consecutive decrease confirmed the action to render euro coins safer for users, the European Commission said.

The number of counterfeit euro coins removed from circulation in 2009 decreased by 12% compared with the year before.

While the number of 2-euro counterfeits decreased by almost 18%, the numbers for 50-cent and 1-euro continued to increase, by 9% and 8%, respectively. The 2-euro denomination remains by far the most counterfeited euro coin, representing almost 3 out of every 4 counterfeit euro coins.

The European Commission said it considers that counterfeit euro coins are not, however, a significant cause of concern for the public. Indeed, the overall number is very small by comparison with the total number of around 15 billion genuine euro coins put into circulation of the three highest denominations, with a resulting ratio of 1 counterfeit for every 89,000 genuine coins.