Banknotes & Coins

Euro banknotes and coins were put into circulation on 1 January 2002.  Today the euro is the national currency of 20 of the 27 European Union (EU) member states.  These 20 countries belong to the Economic and Monetary Union as a result of a European Council decision based on the fulfilment of the convergence criteria (also known as the Maastricht criteria).

These countries, which also form the eurozone, are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Holland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

The EU member states outside the eurozone are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden.  Denmark belongs to the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) which means that its currency is pegged to the euro.

The euro has also been adopted as legal tender by the small states of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City.

Banknote research and development - Cooperation opportunities

The Eurosystem has a duty to safeguard the integrity and security of its banknotes. Accordingly, the European Central Bank in close collaboration with the National Central Banks that belong to the Eurozone, manages, coordinates and funds a wide variety of research projects being conducted in the public and private sectors.  In case you are interested in a joint project to improve our euro banknote, please visit the link below for more details:

https://www/ecb/europa.eu/euro/banknotes/research/html/index.en.html


Banknote authenticity and fitness checking machines approved by the European Central Bank


Coin authenticity checking machines approved by the European Commission


Banknotes & Coins - Frequently Asked Questions


Online Survey on the quality of euro banknotes in circulation