Decision of the European Central Bank of 7 July 1998 on the denominations, specifications, reproduction, exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes (ECB/1998/6)
Date: 1998-07-07
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Economic and Monetary Union, euro, issue of securities, money, reprography, technical specification

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Official Journal of the European Communities

14. 1. 1999

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 7 July 1998

on the denominations, specifications, reproduction, exchange and withdrawal of
euro banknotes

(ECB/1998/6)

(1999/33/EC)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Treaty') and in
particular to Article 105a(1) thereof and to Article 16 of
the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and
of the European Central Bank (hereinafter referred to as
the ‘Statute'),

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3
May 1998 on the introduction of the euro (1) and in
particular to Articles 10 and 16 thereof,

Whereas the provisions of Article 105a(1) of the Treaty,
Article 16 of the Statute and Article 10 of Regulation (EC)
No 974/98 on the introduction of the euro require more
precise details on the denominations and specifications of
the euro banknotes; whereas such details may be provided
by means of a Decision of the Governing Council of the
European Central Bank, published for general informa-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Commun-
ities;

Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 975/98 of 3 May
1998 on denominations and technical specifications of
euro coins intended for circulation (2) stipulates that the
denominations of the euro coins will range from one cent
to two euros; whereas the denominations of the euro
banknotes should take into account the denominations of
the euro coins;

Whereas the present Decision takes into account
the
preparatory work carried out by the European Monetary
in
Institute (hereinafter referred to as the ‘EMI') and,
particular with regard to the banknote designs, the results
competition between banknote
of
a Europe-wide
designers; whereas
such preparatory work included
consultations with European associations of several cat-
egories of banknote users in order to take into account

(1) OJ L 139, 11. 5. 1998, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 139, 11. 5. 1998, p. 6.

their specific visual and technical requirements and to
facilitate the recognition and acceptance of the new bank-
note denominations and specifications by users; whereas
the European Central Bank (hereinafter referred to as the
‘ECB') is the recipient of the copyright on the designs of
the euro banknotes, originally held by the EMI;

it

Whereas
is necessary to establish some common
guiding principles according to which the commercial
reproduction of
the designs of banknotes will be
permitted; whereas the ECB shall have recourse to the
national central banks (hereinafter referred to as the
‘NCBs') of participating Member States for ad hoc author-
isation to reproduce banknote designs; whereas, as a
general policy, reproduction of the banknote designs to
which this Decision refers shall be authorised, inter alia,
for education purposes;

Whereas a common regime under which the NCBs of
participating Member States are prepared to exchange
mutilated or damaged euro banknotes needs to be estab-
lished; whereas the need to establish a common regime
also applies to the final withdrawal of banknotes when
these are to be replaced by new banknotes; whereas the
publication of announcements in the Official Journal of
the European Communities may be accompanied by
other means of publication that may facilitate due
acknowledgement by the general public,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Denominations and specifications

include
The first series of euro banknotes will
1.1.
seven denominations in the range of five euros to 500
euros, depicting the theme ‘Ages and styles of Europe',
with the following basic specifications.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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Face value
(EUR)

Dimensions

Dominant colour

Design

5

10

20

50

100

200

500

120 (cid:253) 62 mm

127 (cid:253) 67 mm

133 (cid:253) 72 mm

140 (cid:253) 77 mm

147 (cid:253) 82 mm

Grey

Red

Blue

Orange

Green

153 (cid:253) 82 mm

Yellow-Brown

160 (cid:253) 82 mm

Purple

Classical

Romanesque

Gothic

Renaissance

Baroque and Rococo

Iron and glass
architecture

Modern 20th century
architecture

1.2.
The seven denominations in the euro banknote
series bear the representation of gateways and windows on
the recto and bridges on the verso. All seven denomina-
tions are typical of the different European artistic periods
referred to above. Other elements of the designs include:
the symbol of the European Union; the name of the
currency in the Roman and Greek alphabets; the initials
of the European Central Bank in their official language
variants; the (cid:211) symbol to indicate the copyright protec-
tion; and the signature of the President of the ECB.

Article 2

Reproduction

The copyright on the banknotes
2.1.
Article 1 of this Decision belongs to the ECB.

specified in

The reproduction of all or part of a banknote
2.2.
specified in Article 1 of
this Decision is authorised
without recourse to a specific procedure in the following
cases:

(a) for photographs, drawings, paintings and films, and
generally for images in which the basic focus of the
image is not the banknotes themselves, provided that
the banknotes are used solely as one element of the
action or of the setting, without any close-up view of
the banknote designs;

(b) for reproductions printed on one side only and

— on a material which cannot be mistaken for paper,

or

— which are more than (or equal

twenty-four
centimetres in length and twelve centimetres in
width, or less than (or equal to) eight centimetres
in length and four centimetres in width.

to)

cies of the ECB, or (ii) the ECB, for applicants located
outside the participating Member States.

2.4.
General authorisation of reproductions under the
above rules may be cancelled in the event of a conflict
with the unalienable moral rights of the author of the
banknote designs.

Article 3

Exchange of mutilated or damaged banknotes

3.1. NCBs of participating Member States shall, upon
request, exchange mutilated or damaged legal tender euro
banknotes in the following cases:

(a) when more than 50 % of the banknote is presented;

(b) when 50 % or less of the banknote is presented if the
the missing parts have been

applicant proves that
destroyed.

The exchange of mutilated or damaged banknotes

3.2.
shall require:

(a) identification of the applicant in cases of doubt as to
the applicant’s legal title to the banknotes and the
authenticity of the banknotes;

(b) upon reasonable suspicion that a criminal offence has
been committed or that the banknote has been inten-
tionally mutilated or damaged, written explanations
with regard to the cause of the mutilation or damage
and what has become of the missing parts of the
banknote;

(c) written explanations of the kind of stain, contamina-
tion or impregnation when ink-stained, contaminated
or impregnated banknotes are presented;

Any other reproduction of all or part of a bank-
2.3.
note has to be authorised by (i) the NCB of the partici-
pating Member State in which the applicant is located,
under delegation from and in accordance with the poli-

(d) a written statement on the cause and kind of neutral-
isation when banknotes are submitted by credit insti-
tutions if they have been discoloured by activated anti-
theft devices;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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(e) payment by the applicant of the fee that the ECB may
establish in cases of labour-intensive analysis by NCBs.

— the treatment of the euro banknotes presented once
the withdrawal period is over and/or they have lost
their legal tender status.

Article 4

Withdrawal of banknotes

The withdrawal of a euro banknote type or series will be
regulated by a Decision of
the Governing Council
published for general information in the Official Journal
of the European Communities and other media. This
Decision will cover, as a minimum, the following points:

Article 5

General provisions

This Decision will be published in the Official Journal
of the European Communities.

— the euro banknote type or series to be withdrawn from

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 7 July 1998.

circulation,

— the duration of the exchange period,
— the date on which the euro banknote type or series

will lose its legal tender status,

The President of the ECB

Willem F. DUISENBERG