In the first half of 2014, just under a third of a million counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation, 6.2 per cent down on the figure for the second half of 2013. Overall, the number of counterfeits remained very low compared with the number of genuine banknotes in circulation during that period – over 16 billion.

The half-yearly figures have fluctuated since 2011, with a high of 353,000 in the second half of 2013 and a low of 251,000 in the first half 2012, the European Central Bank reported.

Genuine notes can be easily recognised using the simple ‘feel, look and tilt’ method described on the euro pages of the ECB’s website and the websites of the Eurosystem national central banks.

The €20 and €50 notes continued to be the most counterfeited ones. They accounted for 81 per cent of the counterfeits, a slight increase over the previous half-year. In all, 98 per cent of the counterfeits were found in eurozone, with 1.9 per cent were found in EU member states outside the eurozone and 0.1 per cent were found in other parts of the world.