ECB: no plastic banknotes, more fakes
Besides presenting the new 10 euro note, the ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch also had other news on the euro. Most important for us collectors is the confirmation that there won't be a switch to polymer banknotes in the near future. "We have seen with great interest what the Bank of England does and also what other central banks have been doing around the world, and we are studying their experiences," Mersch told a news conference when presenting the new 10 euro banknote. "The outcome of our studies was that we would remain with ... the current series," he said.
The other bit of news was the number of fake euro banknotes pulled from circulation. The number of fake notes in the second half of last year rose by 11.4 percent from the first half to 353,000. Although this is the highest number since 2010 it's not that much when you consider there are 15 billion banknotes in circulation.
The new 10 euro won't help much in the fight against counterfeiting because the 20 and 50 euro notes are by far the most favorite notes to forge. The 20 euro will be the next note in the Europa series. Its presentation date is unknown at this time but we're probably looking at 2015 for that one.
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