There’s always been a hidden layer to money. Twist the banknotes at certain angles or under certain lights, and you might just catch a glimpse of the anti-counterfeit measures. However, counterfeit methods do progress; as with any other tech, so occasionally does money need to be updated to keep up with the pace. That is the case with the EU changing banknotes — even if the new designs certainly draw more attention. How has this race of counterfeit and anti-counterfeit money evolved over time? What have previous redesigns changed in terms of technology?
Rise of printers
Counterfeits are an old problem. Even in ancient times, one could produce a fake coin similar to a real one. Come the late 90s, this was brought to another level. Affordable color printers opened the possibility of printing one’s own money. At one point, the US saw counterfeit money being three times more likely to be passed around than seized for a time. While trained personnel could recognize the differences, an average person who is more likely to be less vigilant meant that this was a serious problem.
The euro currency, launched officially in 2002 and revised in 2003, was built with security in mind, including the “feel-look-twist” catchphrase, which highlighted security measures. These measures were meant to be visible to the average person by doing the mentioned actions and helping individuals determine real money from fake ones. The campaign was successful, and the security features raised the bar significantly. Yet, the landscape kept shifting. It was no longer about printing money, which was, by then, trackable to the printer. This time, it has shifted towards organized networks using advanced and often specialized tech.
Not the first redesign
Alongside the new banknote announcement, the Central European Bank mentioned that new banknotes are usually put in circulation every 10 to 15 years to stay ahead of counterfeiters. This confirms security changes will be a big part of it, with this year being the third rendition of the euros, after the last version was introduced in 2013. At its core, the 2013 redesign shared the same principles as the latest version, making banknotes more relatable and inclusive by including more scripts and an updated map.
Beyond the cosmetic changes to the banknotes, the state-of-the-art security features signal that the new threats have warranted the redesign. Knowing a bit more about these sophisticated pieces of paper with so much technology in them is fascinating. While on one side of the coin we discuss and vote for the designs we like, the other side lies others trying to break the security of the banknotes we use daily.
Photo credit: The featured image is symbolic and has been taken by Markus Spiske. The image in the body of the article is owned by the European Central Bank and has been made available for press usage.
Sources: European Central Bank (1997) (2003) (2013) (2026) / Lee McIntyre (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston)
