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- 2. BANKNOTES • When to print and how much to print? Who decides? • The European Central Bank • National authorities are in charge of printing the notes and minting coins.
- 3. BANKNOTES • All euro banknotes are exactly the same, except for their serial numbers. • But coins have national designs. • One side of euro coins is the same in all countries – this is called the common side. It shows different maps of the European Union. The other has a different design, depending on the country that issued it — this is called the national side. The design usually depicts some aspect o the country’s history, art or nature and other themes.
- 4. COUNTERFEIT MONEY • Fake money
- 5. HOW TO IDENTIFY COUNTERFEIT MONEY • Paper quality • E.g. The Euro notes are made of 100% cotton material. This makes the notes feel hard, stiff and firm when touched. • Micro fibers woven into the paper • E.g. U.S. bills are made of 75% cotton and 25% linen. If you hold a U.S. bill under the light, you can see blue and red micro fibers woven into the paper, usually at the ends of the money. Hence, U.S. bills have a special feel and look. • Counterfeiters use ink on the surface, instead of treads woven into the paper itself.
- 6. HOW TO IDENTIFY COUNTERFEIT MONEY • Clear and sharp pictures. Fake money often is blurry. If the money looks dull, but is clearly new, that’s a sign it’s counterfeited. • If you hold the Euro against plain light and look for the whole denomination number on all corners on both sides, the number looks perfectly printed. There is also a dark security stripe across the note.
- 7. HOW TO IDENTIFY COUNTERFEIT MONEY • Hologram symbol. • The hologram image changes from the value number to a window or to a door symbol interchangeably. On the back of the euro note, the denomination number changes from purple to green.
- 8. HOW TO IDENTIFY COUNTERFEIT MONEY • Uniform size and features. If you put a stack of bills of the same denomination, they should look the same.
- 9. TOOLS USED • Visual inspection (see and touch) • Ultraviolet detection
- 10. PENALTY TO COUNTERFEITING CURRENCY • At least eight years of prison in every member state.
- 11. WHAT TO DO IF YOU RECEIVE COUNTERFEIT CURRENCY? • Notify the police. • Using or returning counterfeit money is just as illegal as manufacturing it. • Failure to seize or report counterfeit currency is subject to a fine of up to 100,000 euro.