Last updated: September 2026

What is the history of the euro banknotes?

The euro existed for three years before anyone could hold it. It was launched on 1 January 1999, when it became the currency of more than 300 million people in Europe, but only as an accounting and electronic currency. Banknotes and coins followed on 1 January 2002, replacing national cash such as the Deutsche Mark and the Belgian franc.

Today about 358 million people make cash payments in euro across 21 EU member states, plus several micro-states and other territories (European Central Bank). That makes the 2002 changeover the largest cash conversion ever attempted, and it is why the first-series notes are still turning up in drawers across the continent more than two decades later.

There have been two series so far and a third is being designed. The first series ran from 2002 in seven denominations. The Europa series, with upgraded security, was issued one denomination at a time from 2013 to 2019 and has six. Both circulate side by side.

Who designed the first series, and what is on it?

Robert Kalina, a graphic artist at Oesterreichische Banknoten- und Sicherheitsdruck GmbH in Vienna, designed the banknotes of the first series (Oesterreichische Nationalbank). The design problem he had to solve was political as much as visual.

The solution was to make the architecture generic. Each denomination represents a different period in European architectural history, and the notes carry windows and doorways on the front, symbolising the European spirit of openness and cooperation, with bridges on the back, symbolising communication between the people of Europe and between Europe and the rest of the world (European Central Bank, banknote design). No real building, monument or person appears, so no country could be accused of putting its own heritage on everyone's money.

What is the Europa series?

The Europa series is the second series of euro banknotes, developed with stronger security features to protect the integrity of the currency. It takes its name from a security feature: two of the security features contain a portrait of Europa, the mythological figure, taken from an image on a vase in the Louvre in Paris.

The ECB chose Europa because the figure has an obvious link to the continent and adds a human touch to the notes (European Central Bank, Europa series). The German graphic artist and designer Reinhold Gerstetter adapted the design of the second series, keeping the ages and styles concept from the first (Oesterreichische Nationalbank).

Rollout took six years. The 5 came first on 2 May 2013, then the 10, 20 and 50, and the 100 and 200 started circulating on 28 May 2019, completing the series. Europa series notes are the only ones currently being produced (European Central Bank, current banknotes). If you want the underlying mechanics of these features, our banknote security features reference explains watermarks, threads and holograms in general terms.

Euro banknote series, denomination by denomination

The table sets both series side by side. Note the two rows where the Europa series changed the physical size of the note: the 100 and the 200 became smaller, losing five millimetres on the short side, so a 2019 hundred does not sit flush with a 2002 hundred in an album page.

Denomination data from the Deutsche Bundesbank's euro banknote pages, which list issue date, dimensions, colour and architectural style for each denomination in both series, and from the European Central Bank.

Are old euro notes still valid?

Yes. First series euro banknotes are legal tender, will always retain their value and will continue to circulate alongside the Europa series, according to the European Central Bank. There is no expiry date, no deadline and no need to swap them.

This is unusual and worth understanding, because it is the opposite of how most currency changes work. When a country redenominates, it normally sets a cut-off after which old notes can only be exchanged at a central bank, and then a final date after which they cannot be exchanged at all. Our list of currency redenominations is full of those deadlines. The euro instead treats every note it has ever issued as permanently good, and any euro banknote can be exchanged at any national central bank in the euro area at any time (European Central Bank).

For collectors that has a practical consequence. A first-series note in poor condition is worth exactly its face value, because anyone can spend it. Premiums attach only to condition, printer codes, serial prefixes and signature varieties, which is where the specialist market lives.

Are 500 euro notes still valid?

Yes, although it is no longer produced. On 4 May 2016 the ECB decided to permanently stop producing the 500 euro banknote and to exclude it from the Europa series, with issuance planned to cease around the end of 2018. The ECB states that the note has not been issued since 27 April 2019.

The status of the notes already out there did not change. In the same 2016 announcement the ECB said the 500 euro banknote remains legal tender and can therefore continue to be used as a means of payment and store of value, and that like the other denominations it will always retain its value and can be exchanged at the national central banks of the Eurosystem for an unlimited period of time (ECB press release, 4 May 2016).

The 500 is therefore a closed series in the collector sense: a denomination that exists in one design only, issued for a defined period, and never reprinted. That is the profile that usually attracts collectors over time, in the same way that the withdrawn convertible peso did for Cuba.

What happened to the currencies the euro replaced?

They stopped being legal tender when euro cash arrived, but several can still be exchanged. The rule varies by country, because each national central bank set its own terms, and some set none at all.

Germany is the most generous case. The Bundesbank says euro banknotes and coins became legal tender in all participating member states from 1 January 2002, which nullified the legal tender status of all payment media denominated in Deutsche Mark, and that it is generally possible to exchange an unlimited amount of Deutsche Mark banknotes and coins indefinitely and free of charge at all Bundesbank branches, or by post via its Mainz branch (Deutsche Bundesbank). Austria runs a comparable arrangement: the Oesterreichische Nationalbank says it will still exchange unlimited amounts of schilling banknotes and coins of the last series into euro for an unlimited period, although the 20-year exchange period for schilling banknotes withdrawn before 1 January 1999 has expired (Oesterreichische Nationalbank).

For collectors this is the reason pre-euro national notes remain so easy to find in high grade: millions were never handed in. Our hubs for Germany, France and Austria cover the notes those countries retired, and Germany's 1948 currency reform shows how a far harsher changeover works when a central bank is not being generous.

What will the third series of euro banknotes look like?

Nobody knows yet, and the ECB is deliberately not saying. Two themes were selected by the Governing Council on 30 November 2023: "European culture", celebrating Europe's heritage and creative sectors, and "Rivers and birds", symbolising freedom, unity and environmental responsibility. The associated motifs were decided in January 2025.

A design contest run in 2025 drew more than 1,200 applications from graphic designers across Europe, and an independent jury of 21 experts shortlisted ten designs, announced in July 2026. Everyone in Europe is invited to have their say on the ten proposals in an online survey, and the Governing Council will consider the public response before making its choice. The final design selection is expected around the end of 2026, and the ECB notes that it will take several years before the new banknotes find their way into people's pockets (European Central Bank, future banknotes).

Two things follow for collectors. A third series will eventually turn the Europa series into a completed, finite set, which is when series collecting usually begins in earnest. And the design brief this time names sustainability and accessibility alongside security, so the physical notes may differ from their predecessors in substrate and tactile design. Our comparison of polymer versus paper banknotes covers the trade-offs that decision involves.

What do collectors look for in euro banknotes?

Four things, none of which is the denomination on its own. Euro notes are collected by series, by the country of issue recorded in the serial number, by printer code, and by signature, which means a stack of ordinary looking notes can contain several distinct collectible varieties.

Start with the two series, because they are visually distinct and finite. Then look at the signatures: euro notes carry the signature of the sitting ECB President, which gives every note a datable window. First-series notes and early Europa notes in uncirculated condition are the scarcer end of an otherwise common currency, because almost everything that entered circulation was spent.

Condition does the rest of the work. Because every euro note is still spendable at face value, a circulated example is a souvenir rather than a collectible, and the premium sits with crisp uncirculated paper and with interesting serial numbers. Read our banknote grading guide before you buy, and fancy serial numbers if the number itself is what draws you. New collectors should start with how to collect world banknotes, and the history of paper money puts the euro in its longer context.

Planet Banknote is a family-owned dealership in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 2021. Every note is sourced direct from mints, central banks, and authorized distributors, inspected through our Planet Banknote Verified process, and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity. US orders ship free via USPS Priority, and every order includes a free bonus gift.