The entire euro banknote series was designed by a single person — Robert Kalina of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank — who won an internal competition among European central banks in 1996. His winning approach used fictional architectural motifs rather than real buildings, a deliberate political compromise that avoided the impossible task of choosing monuments acceptable to all member states.
Specimens from 2001 represent the first year of physical euro circulation, which began 1 January 2002. The ECB produced specimens for training and reference purposes ahead of the launch, during one of the largest simultaneous cash changeovers ever attempted across twelve nations.
The entire euro banknote series was designed by a single person — Robert Kalina of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank — who won an internal competition among European central banks in 1996. His winning approach used fictional architectural motifs rather than real buildings, a deliberate political compromise that avoided the impossible task of choosing monuments acceptable to all member states.
Specimens from 2001 represent the first year of physical euro circulation, which began 1 January 2002. The ECB produced specimens for training and reference purposes ahead of the launch, during one of the largest simultaneous cash changeovers ever attempted across twelve nations.