Status report on euro counterfeits seized in 2010

Banknotes

In 2010 a total of 1 428 counterfeit euro banknotes were seized on territory of Slovak Republic representing the total value of EUR 117 365. This represents a decrease of 1/3 compared with the previous year.

In cash circulation 1 271 counterfeits were seized. The rest were detected by law enforcement agencies before they were put into circulation.

Breakdown of counterfeits by denominations:

In the reporting period the EUR 50 was the most counterfeited banknote (35.2 %) that together with the EUR 100 and EUR 20 accounted for almost 85% of all counterfeits.

From the quality point of view the reproduction level of counterfeits is mostly good. Despite of different technical level of imitation of individual security features the imitation is not perfect on majority of counterfeits. Therefore, provided sufficient attention is paid to the acceptance of money, such counterfeits can be in most cases detected even without using special technical equipment.

Indeed, counterfeits can be easily distinguished from genuine banknotes by using very simple test based on FEEL (check of the banknote paper and intaglio print – tactile effect), LOOK (watermark, see-through number, security thread, micro-perforations in the hologram stripe or patch) and TILT (check of glossy iridescent stripe and hologram stripe at EUR 5, EUR 10, EUR 20, check of color-changing number and hologram patch at EUR 50, EUR 100,
EUR 200 and EUR 500). Combination of these steps reliably enables to detect a counterfeit banknote. The above described test together with its visual demonstrations can be found in publicity materials of the Eurosystem or on the ECB web site www.ecb.int and on web sites of the individual national central banks of the Eurosystem.

If case of doubt about the authenticity of a banknote the easiest way to verify is to compare a suspect banknote with one that is known to be genuine.

Coins

In 2010 on the territory of the Slovakia 1409 pieces of counterfeit euro coins were seized.
In comparison to the previous year when 810 pieces of counterfeit coins were seized, this represents 1.7-fold increase. The most frequently seized coin counterfeits were those of denomination 2 €.

Overview of seized counterfeits euro coins by denominations

As for fabrication quality, the counterfeits dispose largely of good technical level
of preparation. Therefore it might not be easy for the public to detect counterfeits especially if accepted coins are not paid sufficient attention.

The frequency of counterfeit coins incidence is about 4 coin counterfeits per one million genuine euro coins in cash circulation what ranks Slovakia to euro area countries with lower occurrence of coin counterfeits.

The most accessible tool to detect a coin counterfeit is a simple magnet. As the genuine 1 € and 2 € coins have magnetic core, it is possible to test the suspect coin by application
of a magnet to a core and subsequently compare its magnetism level with magnetism level of
a genuine coin. It is also important to observe the general appearance and color of a suspect coin and these attributes compare with those of a genuine one. In case of suspicion with 2 € coins it is also recommended to pay attention to the edge lettering.

More detailed information about the common and single national sides of circulation coins can be found on website of the ECB or the NBS:
http://www.ecb.int/euro/coins/html/index.en.html
https://nbs.sk/en/banknotes-and-coins/euro-coins/national-sides