According to the auction where they sold in May this year, the banknotes were distributed by the European Central Bank (ECB) in very limited numbers to corresponding central banks, monetary authorities, commercial banks and research institutes around the world, before and after the release date of Euro banknotes and coins in January 2002.
Initially thought to be going for around £30,000, the notes eventually fetched just below that figure, £24,000.
A rare and uncirculated complete set of first issue Euro banknotes could fetch up to £30,000 in Noonans Mayfair’s sale of World Banknotes tomorrow.
See link to catalogue https://t.co/m8hPDBvSXX#banknotes #euros #papermoney #numismatics #europeancentralbank #firsteuros pic.twitter.com/cJPtt8mYHJ
— Noonans Mayfair (@NoonansAuctions) May 27, 2025
A history of these Euro banknotes
Noonans Mayfair’s footnotes describe the notes as follows:
“The obverse of each note features the signature of Willem Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank from 1 June 1998 to 31 October 2003. A matching specimen set number consisting of four digits is placed above or below the watermark field.
“Prefix letters were allocated to specific central banks and were assigned in reverse order according to the country’s name in its own language.
Recommended reading:
The ‘must have’ rare Royal Mint 50p coin selling for 350 times its face value
The rare coin that sold for £150,000+ at UK auction
Brits picking blackberries face huge fines ‘regardless’
“As such, the first country in alphabetical order would receive the last letter in the English alphabet. For instance, Belgium was allocated the letter Z, Germany was allocated the letter X and so on.
“Production of the first series of Euro banknotes dated 2002 ceased in 2019 with the introduction of the ECB’s second series entitled ‘Europa’.
“The revised designs of the first series were gradually introduced into circulation by specific denomination from 2013 and 2019, however the €500 denomination was discontinued and not included in the current series of banknotes.”
