Euro Counterfeits

Eurosystem 

On 10 January 2013 the European Central Bank published biannual information on euro banknote counterfeiting (shown in the table below).

In the second half of 2012 a total of 280,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation. This means that the overall quantity of counterfeits withdrawn from circulation in 2012 was 12.4 % lower compared with the figures for 2011. At the same time, there was an increase of 11.6 % as regards the quantity recovered in the second half of 2012 compared with the previous six months. 
 

On 11 February 2013 the European Commission announced that 184,000 counterfeit euro coins were withdrawn from circulation in 2012; which is an increase by 17% compared to the year 2011. The counterfeits were primarily €2, €1 and 50 cent coins.

Slovenia

In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No. 1338/01, the National Analysis Centre (NAC) and the Coin National Analysis Centre (CNAC) are responsible for issuing expert opinions with regard to the authenticity of euro cash. In Slovenia these centres work in connection with the National Forensic Laboratory at the Ministry of the Interior. Supervision of the activities of the aforementioned centres, in connection with the work of the Counterfeit Monitoring System at the ECB, is carried out by the National Counterfeit Centre (NCC). The Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia set up the NCC on 30 October 2003, within the Cash Department.

 According to NAC and CNAC figures, 2,362 counterfeit euro banknotes and 1,956 counterfeit euro coins were identified in the year 2012 in Slovenia, compared to 1,174 euro banknotes and 1,459 euro coins identified during the year 2011. The majority of counterfeit euro banknotes, both in terms of quantity and value, is accounted for by three denominations 50 €, 500 € and 20 €. The € 2 coin remains the most widespread euro coin counterfeit in Slovenia. The value of euro counterfeits identified in Slovenia amounted to EUR 336,236.00, compared to EUR 92,543.00 in 2011 (an increase of 265.5 %).

The Bank of Slovenia's National Counterfeit Centre (NCC) and the Ministry of the Interior's NAC assess the quality of counterfeited euro banknotes is reasonably solid, as counterfeits are mainly designed using printing technology or another computer technology.
For the time being, the counterfeiting of euro cash is not a major problem in Slovenia.
 

Professional cash handlers are fairly vigilant regarding the counterfeits. It is different with general public, where individuals are not aware of the possibility to receive a counterfeit.
Some counterfeit euro banknotes have high-quality imitation of fluorescent security feature that could deceive even professional cash handlers, so greater caution is advised.