Eurozone to Issue New €20 Banknote

By European Central Bank….

• New €20 banknote enters into circulation tomorrow
• Euro Exhibition at the ECB opens today with focus on new banknote

The new €20 will start circulating tomorrow. It will be easy to recognise thanks to its innovative “portrait window” near the top of the hologram stripe, which becomes transparent when seen against the light. The window reveals a portrait of Europa, a figure from Greek mythology, which is visible on both sides of the note.

“Cash was, is and will continue to be an important means of payment. The introduction of the new €20 banknote is tangible proof of this”, said ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch at the launch of the new €20.

The new note, 4.3 billion of which have been printed so far, will gradually replace the €20 banknotes of the first series. Those banknotes will however remain legal tender.

The second series retains many of the graphics of the first series, as well as the dominant color scheme.

The new face of the €20 has been redesigned and includes an innovative security feature: a “picture-window” built into the hologram. Facing the light, the window becomes transparent and shows a portrait of Europa visible on both sides of the note. Like the new €5 and €10 bills, the obverse of the new €20 includes a “number emerald” and a European portrait in the watermark.

Small lines printed in relief on the left and right sides of the bill allow the blind and visually-impaired to easily recognize the denomination.

Further information and materials are available from http://www.new-euro-banknotes.eu/

In other news, the Euro Exhibition at the ECB, in which the new €20 occupies a prominent position, also opened on 24 November. The exhibition is an attractive way to learn about euro banknotes and coins, security features, as well as the history of money. It is open until 29 February 2016.

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To read more of CoinWeek’s coverage of the new euro bank note rollout, see:

1. New 10 Euro Bank Note: Second Issue in the Europa Series Released
2. New €20 Banknote Unveiled in Frankfurt Feb. 24