Number of counterfeit banknotes falling in Estonia

Postitatud:

26.07.2019

In Estonia, 117 counterfeit euro banknotes were removed from circulation during the first half of 2019. The average figure for the same period for the past five years is 431. The average figure is considerably affected by an incident last year involving the sale of a car in Italy where the seller later discovered that the banknotes received included 531 counterfeit €100 notes.  Yet even without this incident, the number of counterfeits found in Estonia in the first half of 2019 was considerably smaller than the half-yearly average, and no major counterfeit incidents were recorded.

Counterfeit banknotes removed from circulation in Estonia in 2014–2018

Year

(January-June)

Quantity, pcs

2014

232

2015

240

2016

275

2017

247

2018

1159

The most counterfeited banknotes were € 50 notes, 76 banknotes in total. For example, there have been counterfeit €50 notes where the signature of ECB President Mario Draghi has been replaced by the text „Movie Money“.

Counterfeit banknotes removed from circulation in 2019

Denomination, €

Quantity, pcs

5

3

10

3

20

13

50

76

100

13

200

6

500

3

TOTAL

117

While the number of counterfeit euro banknotes in circulation is relatively small for the euro area as a whole, the number of counterfeits detected in Estonia is very small indeed.

 Of counterfeit euro coins, the majority were 2-euro coins. Just 52 counterfeit coins were found in total.

Eesti Pank encourages people to pay more attention to the banknotes received. Everyone can check if their banknotes are genuine by using the simple feel, look and tilt method, or by comparing a suspicious note to a genuine one. The security features and methods for checking banknotes are described in detail on the website of the European Central Bank. Suspect counterfeit notes or coins must be handed to the police for an expert examination.