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THE ‘EUROPA SERIES’ might sound like some kind of second-tier football tournament, but it’s actually the name the ECB’s new range of banknotes that are replacing those currently in your pockets.
The new fiver is already in circulation but on 23 September, central banks around Europe will start releasing every student’s favourite note, the tenner.
What does it look like? Well, to be honest, it looks quite like a tenner, except with a deeper shade of red. Is the EU reflecting today’s bleak economic climate with a darker colour? Almost certainly not, but it tallies with the new fiver which is also greyer than its 2001 incarnation.
Something you might notice about the new series of notes is a rather unhappy looking lady in the metallic strip on the right and on the blank part (labelled no. 5 above) on the left of the note.
That is in fact the figure from Greek mythology from which our continent is named, Europa.
As you can see Europa is depicted wearing a nice necklace, something which in ancient Greece would represent a high standing in society. It does and Europa was of high lineage, but she was in fact abducted by Zeus.
Europa is only visible as a hologram when tilted to the side, one of the security features of the new note.
The ECB is at pains to point out that the new €10 note is much harder to counterfeit than its predecessor and is different in look, feel and in security features.
Some of these features also include certain areas of microprint that can only be read under a magnifying glass. The note is also resistant to UV light, the paper itself does not glow.
Here are the old and new side by side. What do you think?
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Why not change the money to Polymer banknotes instead of paper? it apparently lasts longer and more difficult to counterfeit. Britain are coming out with new plastic £5 notes in March 2015. (Two million £5 notes will be released by Clydesdale Bank to coincide the anniversary of the opening rail bridge in east Scotland in 1890) Northern Ireland introduced plastic notes over ten years ago! Australia has being using Polymer banknotes since 1988. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_banknote
Totally agree the new fiver is the same as the old one as regards it gets very tacky looking in no time at all. The polymer notes can survive being submerged in water be it washing Machine or diving into water and still look good after months if not years of usage.
I like cake
Go move to a country with fancy money so – Nobody is stopping you…. ;)
- Fact is we’re going to do this ages after everyone else and it’s going to cost millions, kick off 2 tribunals and still fail miserably due to nepotism, stupidity, the catatonia of the public sector etc
Is it sad that I’m excited by this?
not at all, soon as that magnifying glass went over that microprint I went rock hard, serious wood. about to explode here
Extremely
I would like about fifty thousand of these.
Booo! They should have used a shot of the “restored” painting from the 80 year old woman in Spain!!!
Is this the new €50 note to replace the old tenner?
Any free samples going ;)
Won’t be much use when the EU goes belly up.
Ha! Love the optimism!
Would you care to put a timescale on that oh wise one.
Ah great stuff….another jaysus note that now won’t be accepted into machines for vending/parking etc. It only took 2 years of pain after the fivers were introduced….
Why the lack of understanding of the difference between the Eurozone and the EU?
Because it’s one of the most uninteresting concepts in the Universe.
So they have a security feature that you need a special microscope to see how will that help us?
Ehhh I think they look different….
I wouldn’t care what they looked like if I had enough of them !!!
It looks like Monopoly money.
(I miss the Punt, you could get decent things for a tenner with the Punt :( )
A Reichmark by another name,
Jawohl Mein fuhrer.
What’s “money”?
Specimen written across it ruins it for me .
It’s still the tenner that previously could able buy a decent bottle of wine! Now, you’ll need two of these bad boys. Please refer to the crazy alcohol excise thread. Thanks
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