The day of the debut has arrived. Today, 28 May, the new 100 and 200 euro banknotes enter into circulation presented by the European Central Bank last 4 May. They are part of the "second generation" of single currency notes and were created with the aim of countering any counterfeiting attempt.
That's how it ends the new Europe series, launched in 2013 with the issue of 5 euro and continued in 2014 with those of 10 euro, in 2015 with those of 20 euro and in 2017 with those of 50. In view of the entry into circulation, the Bca has commissioned the production Of 3 billion banknotes: 2,3 billion from 100 and 700 million from 200. In this context, much of the work was done by the German Bundesbank, which produced around 1 billion 100 notes.
The new banknotes will follow the same changes adopted to the previous denominations and, compared to the previous ones, will be smaller than 5 millimeters, thus having the same size as those of 50. Comply with all the new characteristics relating to resistance and safety.
There is good news for citizens: the new cuts will be more resistant to high temperatures, they can be ironed and machine washed (so if you forget them in your pocket, as often happens, they won't get ruined).
In addition to the size, the new banknotes are also recognizable by a hologram with a satellite (applied to the upper part of the silver stripe): when moved, the euro symbol appears which rotates around the number.
Not only that: the numbers are larger and affixed with more marked characters and more contrasting colors and along the edge of the there are also different signs perceptible to the touch for each denomination.
In the documents of the Bank of Italy we read: "The emerald green number has been refined, it can be seen in all the denominations of the Europa series but in the 100 and in the 200 euro it also shows the euro symbol, which appears several times at the extension of the number".
What happens to the “old” banknotes? “The banknotes of the first series – says the ECB – will continue to be put into circulation together with the banknotes of the Europa series until stocks run out. They will then be gradually withdrawn. The date on which the first series will cease to be legal tender will be communicated well in advance. However, banknotes of the first series will always retain their value and can be exchanged for an indeterminate period of time at the NCBs of the Eurosystem”.
