Catalog
20 Euro
| Issuer | European Central Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 2002 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a Roman aqueduct vignette in blue-violet intaglio across the upper portion, representing ancient European bridge architecture. Below, a map of Europe in soft tones fills the center-right area, with a band of twelve gold stars on the left recalling the EU emblem. The serial number appears twice, and the denomination '20' is repeated in the lower corners alongside the multilingual inscription 'EURO / EYPO'. |
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| Protection type | Watermark, Security thread, Hologram, Microprinting, Color-shifting ink |
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| Comments |
The 2002 euro series was designed by Robert Kalina of the Austrian National Bank, who won an internal European System of Central Banks competition in 1996. His winning concept used architectural motifs to sidestep the politically impossible task of representing any actual national building — every structure shown is a composite invention, plausible-looking but belonging to no real place.
The 20 euro was the denomination most frequently targeted by counterfeiters in the series' early years, prompting the European Central Bank to accelerate work on the Europa series replacement, which eventually appeared in 2015.