2003/205/EC: Decision of the European Central Bank of 20 March 2003 on the denominations, specifications, reproduction, exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes (ECB/2003/4)
Date: 2003-03-20
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: euro, issue of securities, paper money, reprography, technical specification, withdrawal from the market

L 78/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.3.2003

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 20 March 2003

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

(ECB/2003/4)

(2003/205/EC)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity and in particular to Article 106(1) thereof and to Article
16 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and
of the European Central Bank,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Article 106(1) of the Treaty and Article 16 of the Statute
provide that the European Central Bank (ECB) has the
exclusive right to authorise the issue of banknotes within
the Community. These articles also provide that the ECB
and the national central banks may issue such notes.
Pursuant to Article 10 of Council Regulation (EC) No
974/98 of 3 May 1998 on the introduction of
the
euro (1), the ECB and the national central banks of the
participating Member States (hereinafter ‘NCBs’), shall
put euro banknotes into circulation.

The European Monetary Institute (EMI) carried out the
preparatory work for the production and issue of euro
banknotes, and in particular with regard to the euro
banknote designs,
facilitated the recognition and
acceptance of the new euro banknote denominations
and specifications by users by taking into account the
specific visual and technical requirements of European
associations of banknote users.

it

As successor to the EMI the ECB holds the copyright on
the designs of the euro banknotes originally held by the
EMI. The ECB and the NCBs, acting on behalf of the
ECB, may enforce this copyright with regard to repro-
ductions issued or distributed in breach of this copy-
inter alia, reproductions which might
right, such as,
adversely affect the standing of euro banknotes.

The ECB's and the NCBs' right to issue euro banknotes
includes the competence to take all necessary legal
measures to protect the integrity of the euro banknotes
as a means of payment. The ECB should take measures
to provide for a minimum level of protection in all parti-

(1) OJ L 139, 11.5.1998, p. 1.

the
cipating Member States in order to ensure that
general public can distinguish genuine euro banknotes
from reproductions. It is therefore necessary to establish
common rules according to which the reproduction of
euro banknotes will be permitted.

The provisions of
the present Decision should be
without prejudice to the application of criminal law, in
particular regarding counterfeiting.

Reproductions of euro banknotes in electronic form
should only be regarded as lawful if the producer thereof
adopts adequate technical measures to deter print-outs,
where the general public might mistake the print-outs
for genuine euro banknotes.

The competence to take measures to protect the integ-
rity of
the euro banknotes as a means of payment
includes the competence to adopt a common regime
under which the NCBs are prepared to exchange muti-
lated or damaged euro banknotes. Under this regime
certain categories of euro banknotes are designated
which should be withheld by NCBs when presented to
them for exchange.

The part of the original euro banknote that needs to be
presented in order to qualify for exchange is subject to
minimum measurement requirements. These measure-
ments should be expressed as a percentage of the surface
area of the original euro banknote before it was muti-
lated or damaged, in order to prevent the distortion of
measurements, for instance in situations where the euro
banknote is mutilated or damaged due to shrinkage.

To encourage the proper handling of anti-theft devices
by all professional banknote handlers it is appropriate,
when they request NCBs to exchange euro banknotes
that have been mutilated or damaged by using anti-theft
devices, for NCBs to charge the banknote handlers a fee
to compensate for the analysis performed with regard to
the exchange of these euro banknotes.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

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(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

This fee is not charged when the mutilation or damage
results from an attempted or actual robbery or theft,
and, to avoid insignificant fees, is only charged when a
minimum number of mutilated or damaged euro bank-
notes is presented for exchange.

Euro banknotes which have been mutilated or damaged
in bulk due to the use of anti-theft devices should be
presented for exchange in sets consisting of a minimum
number of euro banknotes.

The ECB's exclusive right to authorise the issue of euro
banknotes within the Community includes the compe-
tence to withdraw euro banknotes and to establish a
common regime under which the ECB and the NCBs can
perform this withdrawal.

denominations,

It is appropriate for reasons of clarity and legal certainty
to codify Decision ECB/2001/7 of 30 August 2001 on
the
reproduction,
exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes (1), as
amended by Decision ECB/2001/14 (2) and make more
transparent the tasks of the ECB and the NCBs with
regard to the rules on the reproduction, exchange and
withdrawal of euro banknotes,

specifications,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Denominations and specifications

The first series of euro banknotes shall

include seven
1.
denominations in the range of five euro to 500 euro, depicting
the theme ‘Ages and styles of Europe’, with the following basic
specifications.

Face value
(EUR)

Dimensions

Dominant colour

Design

5

10

20

50

120 × 62 mm Grey

Classical

127 × 67 mm Red

Romanesque

133 × 72 mm Blue

Gothic

140 × 77 mm Orange

Renaissance

100

147 × 82 mm Green

200

153 × 82 mm Yellow-brown

500

160 × 82 mm Purple

Baroque
rococo

and

Iron and glass
architecture

20th
Modern
century architec-
ture

(1) OJ L 233, 31.8.2001, p. 55.
(2) OJ L 5, 9.1.2002, p. 26.

The seven denominations in the euro banknote series
2.
shall bear the representation of gateways and windows on the
front side (recto) and bridges on the reverse side (verso). All
seven denominations shall be typical of the different European
artistic periods referred to above. Other elements of the designs
shall include: the symbol of the European Union; the name of
the currency in the Roman and Greek alphabets; the initials of
the ECB in their official language variants; the © symbol which
indicates that the copyright belongs to the ECB; and the signa-
ture of the President of the ECB.

Article 2

Reproduction rules for euro banknotes

‘Reproduction’ shall mean any tangible or

intangible
1.
image that uses all or part of a euro banknote as specified in
Article 1, or parts of its individual design elements, such as,
inter alia, colour, dimensions and use of letters or symbols,
which image may resemble or give the general impression of a
euro banknote, irrespective of:

(a) the size of the image; or

(b) the material(s) or technique(s) used to produce it; or

(c) whether or not elements or illustrations have been added to

the image that do not originate from banknotes; or

(d) whether or not the design of the euro banknote, such as

letters or symbols has been altered.

Reproductions which the general public might mistake

2.
for genuine euro banknotes shall be deemed unlawful.

3.
Reproductions complying with the following criteria shall
be deemed lawful since there is no risk that the general public
might mistake them for genuine euro banknotes:

(a) one-sided reproductions of a euro banknote as specified in
Article 1, provided that the size of the reproduction is at
least 125 % of both the length and width or at most 75 %
of both the length and the width of the respective euro
banknote as specified in Article 1; or

(b) two-sided reproductions of a euro banknote as specified in
Article 1, provided that the size of the reproduction is at
least 200 % of both the length and width or at most 50 %
of both the length and width of the respective euro bank-
note as specified in Article 1; or

(c) reproductions of individual design elements of a euro bank-
note as specified in Article 1, provided that such a design
element is not depicted on a background resembling a
banknote; or

(d) one-sided reproductions depicting a part of the front side
or reverse side of a euro banknote, provided that such a
part is smaller than one third of the original front side or
reverse side of the euro banknote as specified in Article 1;
or

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(e) reproductions made of a material clearly different from
paper, which looks distinctly different from the material
used for banknotes; or

(f) intangible reproductions made available electronically on
websites, by wire or wireless means or by any other means
that allow members of the public to access these intangible
reproductions from a place and at a time individually
chosen by them, provided that:

— the word SPECIMEN is printed diagonally across the
reproduction in Arial font or a font similar to Arial
font. The length of the word SPECIMEN is at least 75 %
of the length of the reproduction and the height of the
word SPECIMEN is at least 15 % of the width of the
(opaque)
reproduction, and is in a non-transparent
colour contrasting with the dominant colour of the
respective euro banknote as specified in Article 1, and

— the resolution of

the electronic reproduction in its

original size does not exceed 72 dpi (dots per inch).

that

provide

confirmation

reproductions

4.
The ECB and the NCBs shall, upon receiving a written
request,
not
insofar as they
complying with the criteria of paragraph 3,
cannot be mistaken by the general public for a genuine euro
banknote as specified in Article 1, are also lawful. Where a
reproduction is produced in the territory of only one partici-
pating Member State, requests as referred to above shall be
addressed to the NCB of that Member State. In all other cases,
such requests shall be addressed to the ECB.

5.
Reproduction rules for euro banknotes also apply to euro
banknotes that have been withdrawn or have lost their legal
tender status under this Decision.

Article 3

Exchange of mutilated or damaged euro banknotes

1.
NCBs shall, upon request, and under the conditions laid
down in paragraph 2, exchange mutilated or damaged genuine
legal tender euro banknotes in the following cases:

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

or

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

that

applicant proves
destroyed.

2.
Further to paragraph 1 the following additional condi-
tions apply to the exchange of mutilated or damaged legal
tender euro banknotes:

(a) where doubt exists as to the applicant's legal title to the
euro banknotes or as to the authenticity of the euro bank-
notes: identification shall be provided by the applicant;

(b) when ink-stained, contaminated or impregnated euro bank-
notes are presented: a written explanation as to the kind of
stain, contamination or impregnation shall be provided by
the applicant;

(c) when the euro banknotes have been discoloured by acti-
vated anti-theft devices and they are presented by profes-
sional banknote handlers as referred to in Article 6(1) of
Council Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 of 28 June 2001
laying down measures necessary for the protection of the
euro against counterfeiting (1): a written statement on the
cause and the nature of neutralisation shall be provided by
the professional banknote handlers;

(d) when the euro banknotes have been mutilated or damaged
in bulk due to the use of anti-theft devices: they shall be
presented in sets of 100 euro banknotes, provided that the
amount of euro banknotes presented is sufficient to form
such sets.

3.

Notwithstanding the above:

(a) Where NCBs know or have sufficient reason to believe that
the euro banknotes have been intentionally mutilated or
damaged, they shall refuse to exchange and shall withhold
the euro banknotes, in order to avoid the return of such
euro banknotes into circulation or to prevent the applicant
from presenting them to another NCB for exchange.
However, they will exchange the mutilated or damaged
euro banknotes if
they either know or have sufficient
reason to believe that applicants are bona fide, or if appli-
cants can prove that they are bona fide. Euro banknotes
which are mutilated or damaged to a minor degree, e.g. by
having annotations, numbers or brief sentences placed on
them, will in principle not be considered to be intentionally
mutilated or damaged euro banknotes; and

(b) Where NCBs know or have sufficient reason to believe that
a criminal offence has been committed they shall refuse to
exchange the mutilated or damaged euro banknotes and
shall withhold them, against acknowledgement of receipt,
as evidence to be presented to the competent authorities to
investigation.
initiate or to support an ongoing criminal
Unless otherwise decided by the competent authorities, the
euro banknotes shall be returned to the applicant at the
end of the investigation and shall thereafter qualify for
exchange.

Article 4

Establishment of a fee for the exchange of mutilated or
damaged euro banknotes

NCBs shall charge professional banknote handlers a fee
1.
when they request NCBs,
in accordance with Article 3, to
exchange legal tender euro banknotes that have been mutilated
or damaged by using anti-theft devices.

The fee shall amount

2.
damaged euro banknote.

to 10 cents per mutilated or

3.
The fee shall only be charged if at least 100 mutilated or
damaged euro banknotes are exchanged. The fee shall be
charged for all exchanged euro banknotes.

(1) OJ L 181, 4.7.2001, p. 6.

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No fee shall be charged where euro banknotes have been
4.
mutilated or damaged in connection with an attempted or
actual robbery or theft.

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

Article 5

Withdrawal of euro banknotes

The withdrawal of a euro banknote type or series shall be regu-
lated by a decision of the Governing Council published for
general information in the Official Journal of the European Union
and other media. This Decision shall cover, as a minimum, the
following points:

— the euro banknote type or series to be withdrawn from

circulation, and

— the duration of the exchange period, and

— the date on which the euro banknote type or series will lose

its legal tender status, and

Article 6

Final provisions

Decisions ECB/2001/7 and ECB/2001/14 are hereby

1.
repealed.

References to Decisions ECB/1998/6 (1), ECB/1999/2 (2),
2.
ECB/2001/7 and ECB/2001/14 shall be construed as references
to this Decision.

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following

3.
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 20 March 2003.

On behalf of the Governing Council of the ECB

Willem F. DUISENBERG

(1) Decision ECB/1998/6 of 7 July 1998 on the denominations, specifi-
cations, reproduction, exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes,
OJ L 8, 14.1.1999, p. 36.

(2) Decision ECB/1999/2 of 26 August 1999 amending the Decision
ECB/1998/6 of 7 July 1998 on the denominations, specifications,
reproduction, exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes, OJ L
258, 5.10.1999, p. 29.