Counterfeit euro notes: seizures on the rise again in 2023. In total, some 467,000 false denominations, mainly 20 and 50 euro notes, were withdrawn from circulation last year.
By comparison, 29.8 billion genuine notes were in circulation at the end of December, almost quadruple compared to the year they were introduced in 2002. Counterfeits are most often “very bad imitations,” notes the ECB has been raising public awareness for years using the method of “touching, looking, tilting” the note.