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Vidéo
Vidéo
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Eurocash academy
Eurocash academy
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Website official
Website official
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Europa banknote - recto
Europa banknote - recto
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Europa banknote - verso
Europa banknote - verso
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Europa vase - Louvre museum, Paris
Europa vase - Louvre museum, Paris
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Banknote presentation
Banknote presentation

THE NEW €5 BANKNOTE IS HERE!

2 May 2013 saw the launch of the new €5 banknote which is gradually being put into circulation across the euro area. It’s the first banknote in the new Europa series, named after the Greek mythological figure who gave her name to the continent.

The new €5 banknote, and the rest of the Europa series, have a few features in common with their predecessors, which first came into circulation on 1 January 2002:

- The series is still illustrated with scenes and architectural styles from different periods in Europe’s history: bridges, doorways and windows as symbols of openness and exchange.

- In addition, the main colour of each denomination in the series remains unchanged (grey for the €5).

The security features have been reinforced

While the basic look of the banknotes is little changed, the security features have been reinforced, drawing on the various advances made in the field of anti-counterfeit technology since the first notes were introduced more than a decade ago. The need to incorporate these features was one of the main reasons for modifying the notes’ appearance. The task of adapting them was given to German designer Reinhold Gerstetter.

The most obvious new features, visible to the general public, are as follows:

- For the first time, a face appears on euro banknotes: that of Europa, as she appears on a 2,000 year-old crater (a type of ancient Greek vase in which wine and water were mixed) discovered in southern Italy, and belonging to the Louvre. This face of Europa also appears in the watermark of the €5 note and as a hologram in the silvery stripe;

- The number 5 in the bottom right-hand corner is now a shiny “emerald number”: it displays an effect of colour and light when you tilt the banknote;

- The other number 5, which used to appear in the top right-hand corner, has been shifted several centimetres to the left;

- There is a series of raised, short lines on the front left and right-hand edges. This is so the note can be recognised by the visually impaired;

- The security thread, which appears as a dark vertical stripe running down the middle of the note, now carries the symbol €5;

- A number of features have also been modified to take into account the enlargement of the European Union since the first series of banknotes were designed: the map of Europe, the languages in which the denomination is written and the initials of the ECB.

The Banque de France will manufacture a substantial portion of the new banknotes (40%) for the entire euro area at its site in Chamalières (Puy de Dôme).

The €5 banknotes from the first series and second series will continue to circulate in parallel for a number of months. The first series will then be gradually withdrawn from circulation and will eventually cease to be legal tender, at a date announced well in advance. However, banknotes from the first series will retain their value indefinitely and can be exchanged at any time at the Banque de France and at any other national central bank in the euro area.

The 6 other denominations in the new Europa series (the new 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euro notes) will be introduced in ascending order over the next few years.

To find out more about the new €5 banknote

- A video on Europa’s face and the Louvre’s bowl:



- 2 videos on the production of money paper and the new €5 note:


 


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Published on 30 April 2013. Updated on 12 September 2019