10 Euros Specimen

The first series of euro banknotes — the "Europa series" predecessor sometimes called the "First Series" — launched on 1 January 2002, making this 2001-dated specimen a pre-issue example produced for training and familiarization purposes before any note had entered public hands. Specimens of this series were distributed to banking institutions, customs authorities, and retailers across twelve countries simultaneously, an unprecedented logistical exercise with no historical parallel in European monetary history.

The 10 euro was among the denominations most frequently counterfeited in the early years, prompting the ECB to accelerate work on the upgraded Europa Series replacement, which eventually appeared in 2014.