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5 Euros Specimen
| Issuer | European Central Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 5 © BCE ECB EZB EKT EKP 2001 SPECIMEN 5 EURO ΕΥΡΩ |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 012345678900 SPECIMEN 5 EURO ΕΥΡΩ |
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| Comments |
The first euro banknotes entered circulation on 1 January 2002, but specimens from the preceding year exist because the ECB distributed pre-production examples to central banks, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies across the eurozone for training and authentication purposes. Specimen notes carry distinctive overprints and perforations that render them non-negotiable.
Robert Kalina, an Austrian designer working at the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, won the internal ECB design competition in 1996. His architecture theme — windows and gateways on the obverse, bridges on the reverse — was chosen partly because it depicts no real structure, deliberately avoiding national favoritism among the twelve original adopting states.