The euro & you

Recognizing the euro Security features

Banknotes

Various security features have been incorporated into the euro banknotes. They will help you to recognise a genuine banknote at a glance. (More: http://www.euro.ecb.int/en/section/recog.html)

	Feel the “raised” print – the special printing processes give banknotes their unique feel.
	Look at the banknote and hold it up to the light: the watermark, the security thread and the see-through register will then be visible. All three features can be seen from the front and the reverse side of genuine banknotes.
	Tilt the banknote: on the front of the banknote, you can see the shifting image on the hologram foil stripe (on the low-value banknotes) or the hologram foil patch (on the high-value banknotes).
	Tilt the banknote: on the reverse side, if you tilt the banknote, you can see the brilliance of the iridescent stripe (on the low-value banknotes) or the colour-shifting ink (on the high-value banknotes).

Coins

The euro coins also were produced according to advanced technical specifications that make reproduction extremely difficult and easy to detect.

Particular care has been taken to include unique security features on the EUR1 and EUR2 coins.

The EUR1 and EUR2 coins are produced using sophisticated bi-metal technology, which makes them difficult to counterfeit. You will find lettering around the edge of the EUR2 coin. The euro coins incorporate the safest machine-readable characteristics and will be used in vending machines throughout the euro area, irrespective of the Member State which issued them.