| Vorderseitenbeschreibung |
The obverse presents a large arched window and doorway rendered in the Renaissance architectural style of post-1930s Europe, executed against a dominant purple underprint with intricate guilloche patterns. The denomination '500' appears in large numerals at the lower left, accompanied by the 'EURO' inscription and its Greek equivalent 'ΕΥΡΩ', while the twelve stars of the European Union are arranged along the upper edge. The ECB acronyms in multiple official EU languages — BCE, ECB, EZB, EKT, EKP — are printed across the upper portion of the note. |
| Vorderseitenlegende |
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| Rückseitenbeschreibung |
The reverse is dominated by a graceful arched bridge rendered in the modern architectural style of post-1930s Europe, set against a purple and violet underprint with fine guilloche network, symbolising communication and connectivity between European peoples and the wider world. A map of Europe occupies the right-hand portion of the note, overlaid with the flag's twelve golden stars along the upper border. The denomination '500' appears at both left and right, flanking the 'EURO' and 'ΕΥΡΩ' inscriptions, with the European Central Bank's holographic stripe integrated into the design. |
| Rückseitenlegende |
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| Unterschrift(en) |
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| Sicherheitsmerkmal |
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| Beschreibung der Sicherheitsmerkmale |
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| Varianten |
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The 500 euro note was the highest denomination in the first euro series and, from the start, attracted sustained controversy. Its anonymity made it useful for large-value cash transactions with minimal paper trail, and European law enforcement agencies — Europol among them — repeatedly flagged it as the preferred denomination for money laundering and criminal settlement. The ECB eventually acknowledged the problem and announced in 2016 that the 500 would not be included in the Europa (second) series, with issuance ending in January 2019.
Robert Kalina, a designer at the Austrian National Bank, won the ECB's internal competition in 1996 with a concept depicting architectural styles from antiquity through the twentieth century — none depicting real structures, deliberately so, to avoid political disputes over national representation. Production was distributed across multiple national central bank printers, each incorporating a letter prefix in the serial number identifying the printing house.
Notes issued by the Bundesdruckerei carry the prefix "X"; Banca d'Italia-printed notes begin with "S."