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1 ECU
| Issuer | Generale Bank (Générale de Banque) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1990 |
| Type | Vouchers |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central guilloche rosette in multicolour underprint; to the left, a vignette of Europa astride the Bull (Zeus transformed, per legend) with serial number below; to the right, a dove in flight above the denomination "1 ECU" in bold letterpress. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Quadrilingual redemption text in four blocks at left, covering French, Dutch, English, and German; to the right, the same central guilloche rosette with a ring of twelve gold stars and a dove vignette, with denomination "1 ECU" at upper right. |
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| Comments |
The ECU — European Currency Unit — was never legal tender anywhere. It existed as a basket currency, used in interbank settlements and for denominating certain bonds and financial instruments within the European Monetary System from 1979 onward. Générale de Banque issued this note not as circulating currency but as a commemorative piece, part of a broader promotional push by European financial institutions in the late 1980s eager to position themselves ahead of monetary integration.
Giesecke & Devrient's involvement lends it the physical credibility of a genuine banknote — security paper, proper intaglio printing — which is precisely the point. The ECU never became the euro's direct successor in name; that choice was made at the 1995 Madrid summit.