New Euro banknote design boosts security features

The European Union has updated the design of its banknotes for the first time since the Euro was introduced 11 years ago, adding additional security features.

While many of the new anti-counterfeiting technologies are for obvious reasons kept secret, one new overt feature is the incorporation of "emerald number" that changes colour from emerald green to deep blue depending on its orientation, and also displays an effect of the light that moves up and down.

Other technologies include holograms, watermarks, security threads, infrared properties, microprint and markings that are revealed under ultraviolet light.

The features will be seen initially on the €5 banknote - which is due to be the first introduced on May 2 - but will also be incorporated in new €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500 notes that arrive over the next few years.

The notes "are easy to check using the 'feel, look and tilt' method," said the European Central Bank in a statement. In keeping with the changes in the EU over the last 10 years the word 'euro' is now written in the Cyrillic as well as in the Latin and Greek alphabets on the new series, which also include an image of the Greek goddess Europa.

The ECB also provided an update on counterfeiting of the euro, noting that in the second half of 2012 a total of 280,000 fake euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation, a 12 per cent decline compared to the same period of 2011.

The number of counterfeit notes has declined every six months since 2009, when near 450,000 notes were intercepted. The most commonly counterfeited note are the €20 and €50, accounting for more than 80 per cent of fakes withdrawn from circulation in the second half of last year.

"When compared with the number of genuine euro banknotes in circulation - on average 14.9bn during the second half of 2012 - the proportion of counterfeits remains very low," said the ECB.

"We do not rest on our laurels," commented ECB president Mario Draghi at the launch of the new €5 note at the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt yesterday.

"The ECB strives to ensure that the banknotes are steadily developed and enhanced, and are 'state of the art' in terms of security and technology. The Europa series will be 'smarter' and even more secure than the current series," he added.