Irish Euro Notes - Europa Series

[JohnnyQ]

The pic was taken on the day it was posted. Notes are usually produced about 1 to 3 years before they are issued.

[DOC]

I’ve attached a pic of the packaging of a block of 1000 €50 notes printed in Portugal. You can see from the first and last note in the block the huge range included. Not all printers include this information on the packaging. Also included on the individual wrappers is the date they were wrapped. In this case 11-04-2016.

Yes, no doubt about it, that is a huge number range with more than 300,000 serial numbers meeting the checksum requirements. However, it does appear that only the digits marked in yellow are changing. In order to make sense of it, more information would be required regarding the serial numbers observed in the block.

MD 0 5 5 1 8 5 5 6 6 3

[JohnnyQ]

There is no checksum on a euro banknote. If by checksum you mean a calculation it carried out on some of the numbers and the answer needs to be part of the rest of the number. This is how a bank account number works. They are not issued in sequence but skip numbers. Notes are printed starting 00000019 then 00000028 etc. The ECB doesn’t care if they are packaged in sequence. They simply remove imperfect ones and keep adding notes until they have the required amount.

[DOC]

All euro notes conform to a checksum rule. However, the prefix letters also need to be factored in the calculation. The letters are converted to numbers using the ASCII coding system (see link).

http s://theasciicode.com.ar/

The following link provides a worked example for a First Series note. Europa Series notes also conform to this system.

http s://exclusivecoins.blogspot.com/2018/09/811-europa-series-of-banknotes-i.html

A consecutive ‘run’ of euro notes should differ in serial number by 9 and new notes often come out of cash machines in this way. As you have observed, the pattern may break down for longer sequences depending on how the bundles are assembled and how error notes are removed and replaced.

[JohnnyQ]

Sorry DOC. I’m not doubting you but I’m struggling to grasp the concept a little. I’ve looked at the link you have posted but can’t see how the checksum works out for the numbers on the block. They add to 44 for me.

[DOC]

No worries JohnnyQ.
There are a few different ways to check the serial number. Here is one method.
I have a First Series 20 euro note in my collection with serial T38362154793 and wish to check it.
First task is to convert T to a number by checking the ASCII Table.
The number corresponding to T is 84.
Then T38362154793 converts to 8438362154793.
Sum the digits 8+4+3+8+3+6+2+1+5+4+7+9+3=63.
This total of 63 should be 9 or a multiple of 9 which it is, so T38362154793 meets the checksum requirements.
Taking the next number T38362154794 and following the same process you get the following result.
Sum the digits 8+4+3+8+3+6+2+1+5+4+7+9+4=64
64 is not a multiple of 9 so not allowed.
The next allowable serial number is T38362154802 which is a step of 9 above the original number.
Summing the digits 8+4+3+8+3+6+2+1+5+4+8+0+2=54
54 is a multiple of 9, so allowed.
Hope this makes sense

[JohnnyQ]

Came across an XZ €20 today. Another unusual Z to go with NZ that we had already seen. Also a new prefix letter H with a VH €20 note.

[DOC]

Interesting to see use of the prefix letters H and Z. I wonder if there is a restriction on the second letter to ensure it is not the same as the first. Could we have ZZ for example?

[JohnnyQ]

Now that you mention it I haven’t seen any notes with two letters the same.

[JohnnyQ]

I saw last night on the ECB website that Ireland is commissioned to produce €5 for 2020. I wonder how that is going to work? Will it be part of the JET system?

[DOC]

I suspect that the new 5 euro notes will be sourced using the JET system and that the T prefix will disappear. However, we could be surprised !

JohnnyQ, when a pack of notes comes in, is there any mention on the wrapper of the country the notes were printed for?

Btw, I can confirm that 20 euro T notes with plate codes T003 and T004 have been sighted. Now all plate codes from T001 to T006 have been observed. The updated table of Irish Europa Series notes is attached.

[JohnnyQ]

Sometimes. In every case bar one single Italian block the outside wrapper is plain with usually a sicker on it showing some of the production details, time and date and batch etc. On the one Italian block the wrapper was branded and also each individual bundle was stamped and signed. I will attach a pic of it. In some cases there is a clear country on the bundle wrappers and on some there isn’t. Irish notes don’t have a branded wrap. Just a little faint readout on each with the production date and CBI.

[JohnnyQ]

Think this should show them.

[JohnnyQ]

Also I’ve added a pic of ES1 next to ES2 and you can see there is a big difference in the thickness.

[JohnnyQ]

The signed stamp.

[DOC]

Thanks, interesting to see the labelling of the bundles. Are there any examples where the country printed on the label does not correspond to the print prefix on the notes?

[JohnnyQ]

Only with the JET. The country on the wrapper can be any number of printers. From looking at the videos of the production of euro notes and how they are packaged in bricks of 1000 and then packed in boxes I now know Irish pounds were packaged the same. They arrived in banks in bricks but I remember when I was about 14 and was doing the rounds of the banks I used to go to the CBI in Dame Street, flutter my eyelids and the staff would give me all the 10/- notes they had. I remember asking the cashier how they came from sandy ford. Didn’t know anything about the bricks at the time and she showed me an empty cardboard box and said that’s how they came but she didn’t have anything from in the box to show me. I remember being confused by it at the time thinking maybe the notes came bundled in 100s or something and how scattered it would be for them to be thrown in a white cardboard box. All makes sense now.

[DOC]

Interesting insights there and looking forward to see what happens in 2020 with the 5 euro notes printed for Ireland.

[DOC]

Europa Series 50 euro notes were introduced in 2017. The Central Bank of Ireland did not print this denomination but sourced them from other Eurozone countries. An example of a note printed in France is shown. The 50 euro note is the highest denomination note commonly used in the Republic of Ireland. Higher denomination notes such as 100 euro and 200 euro are seldom seen.

[DOC]

Europa Series 100 Euro and 200 Euro notes were introduced this year on the 28th May 2019. The Central Bank of Ireland does not plan to print these notes but notes printed in other Eurozone countries are legal tender in the Republic of Ireland. It would be interesting to hear if anyone has come across any of these high denomination notes in circulation in Ireland. An example of a 100 Euro Europa Series note printed in Italy is attached.