Make sure you have a euro banknote to hand as our host Katie Ranger and Martin Münd, counterfeit expert and banknote enthusiast, explore everything you need to know about euro banknotes.

The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank.

Published on 5 February 2022 and recorded on 19 January 2022.

In this episode:

01:26 – What exactly does a counterfeit expert do?

How our guest Martin Münd turned his passion for banknotes into a job and what his role as an ECB counterfeit expert involves.

5:18 – 20 years of euro banknotes

Euro banknotes were introduced on 1 January 2002 in what was the world’s largest ever cash changeover. What are our guest’s memories of that day?

08:43 – Banknote design

What the design elements of euro banknotes are, why they matter and how visually impaired people can distinguish between different banknote denominations.

13:39 – How to spot a fake banknote

What the security features of euro banknotes are, how you can check if a banknote is real or fake using the “feel-look-tilt” method, and what tomatoes and banknotes have in common.

25:33 – What’s next for euro banknotes?

How we are planning to further develop euro banknotes and why we will be redesigning them over the next few years.

28:27 – Our guest’s “hot tip” for our listeners

Our guest Martin Münd gives a tip for adding a banknote element to your summer holidays!

Additional material:

20 years of euro banknotes and coins

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/20_years_of_euro/html/index.en.html

Press release: Euro banknote counterfeiting at historically low level in 2021, January 2022

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2022/html/ecb.pr220128~d65c3326c2.en.html

Catch me (if you can): assessing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via euro cash, July 2021

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpops/ecb.op259~33b180d450.en.pdf

Europa series banknotes: security features

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/security/html/index.en.html#feel

European Central Bank

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html

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