The first euros. The creation and issue of the first euro banknotes and the road to the Europa series

From the conception and development of Europe’s first common banknotes in the early 1990s, to the creation and launch of the second series, Europa. The book gives a detailed analysis of the choices faced at the different stages of design, production and issuance, and the reasoning behind the decisions ultimately made. The author’s personal recollections and experiences enliven a richly illustrated narrative.

Antti Heinonen was a central figure in developing euro banknotes and planning the changeover. For more than a decade, until 2008, he was the Director of Banknotes at the European Central Bank. Currently he is the chairman of the Banknote Ethics Initiative, established to provide ethical business practices within the banknote industry, with a focus on the prevention of corruption and on compliance with anti-trust law.

The book has previously been published in Finnish and German. This international edition in English, containing additional details, photographs and diagrams, has been produced in a collaborative project between Suomen Pankki and the European Central Bank.

• Primary Source

EU Bookshop: Some ECB publications can also be downloaded via the EU Bookshop website http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/european-central-bank-cbzZYKABstuhoAAAEjIokY4e5K/

ECB: Publications http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/html/index.en.html

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