EN ECB-P UBLIC  
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 17 July 2012 
on certain old banknotes ceasing to be legal tender 
(CON/2012/54)  
 Introduction and legal basis 
On 15 June 2012 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from Sveriges Riksbank for an 
opinion on a draft law on certain old banknotes ceasing to  be legal tender (hereinafter the ‘draft law’). 
The ECB’s competence to deliver an  opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and the second inde nt of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC 
of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national au thorities regarding draft 
legislative provisions1, as the draft law relates to means of paym ent. In accordance with the first sentence 
of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of th e European Central Bank, the Governing Council has 
adopted this opinion. 
 1. Purpose of the draft law 
Under the draft law, fifty and thou sand krona banknotes without foil stri ps will cease to be legal tender on 
31 December 2013. The reason for the draft law is that there are currently two valid versions of the fifty 
and thousand krona banknotes; the older versions have fe wer security features, for example, they have no 
foil strips. In order to reduce the quantity of bank notes in circulation, Sveriges Riksbank proposes that 
these older banknotes become invalid. So that it can inform the public accordingly, Sveriges Riksbank 
has proposed that it would be preferable for the dr aft law to enter into force on 1 January 2013. After 
31 December 2013 it will still be possible for both ba nks and the public to redeem banknotes by posting 
them to Sveriges Riksbank. 
 2.  General Observations Pursuant to Chapter 9, Article 14, of the Swedish Constitution, Sveriges Riksbank has the exclusive right 
to issue banknotes and coins. Chapter 5, Article 1, of the Law on Sveriges Riksbank states that banknotes 
and coins issued by Sveriges Riksbank are legal tender.  Sveriges Riksbank thus has the sole right to issue 
banknotes and coins and to determine their design. Ho wever, general rules concerning the monetary and 
                                                      
1 OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.  
ECB-P UBLIC  
2 payment system, such as decisions on certain Swedis h banknotes and coins ceasing to be legal tender, are 
decided by Sveriges Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament). 
The ECB acknowledges that Sveriges Riksbank has conducted a thorough examination into the cash 
markets need, taking into account the views of ma rket participants such as banks, cash-in-transit 
companies and the retail sector. The ECB also consider s that the time interval between the entry into 
force of the draft law and the date on which the affect ed banknotes cease to be legal tender is sufficient.  
In view of the above, the ECB welcomes the planne d withdrawal of the old krona banknotes and their 
replacement with new krona banknotes of the same denominations that have more enhanced security 
features. This replacement will ensure the integr ity of the krona and safeguard it better against 
counterfeiting. 
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.   Done at Frankfurt am Main, 17 July 2012. 
 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Mario DRAGHI