Older design €5 and €10 banknotes.

[Springs Branch]

Are the original Euro banknotes issued in 2002 still readily accepted by shops and traders on the Continent?

According to the European Central Bank's website, the older versions have remained legal tender after the newer Europa designs were introduced from 2013 onwards. Which is all good in theory - but are they still readily accepted in practice?

I'm thinking of donating my small stash of "old" €5 and €10 notes to my eight-year-old great-nephew, who will be making his first visit to Italy next month. I'd hate for some bad-tempered Italian shopkeeper to throw the cash back at him when he (or more likely his mother) tries to buy himself a snack or a gelato.

Anyone had any experiences in the recent past?

 

[hexagon789]

Are the original Euro banknotes issued in 2002 still readily accepted by shops and traders on the Continent?

According to the European Central Bank's website, the older versions have remained legal tender after the newer Europa designs were introduced from 2013 onwards. Which is all good in theory - but are they still readily accepted in practice?

I'm thinking of donating my small stash of "old" €5 and €10 notes to my eight-year-old great-nephew, who will be making his first visit to Italy next month. I'd hate for some bad-tempered Italian shopkeeper to throw the cash back at him when he (or more likely his mother) tries to buy himself a snack or a gelato.

Anyone had any experiences in the recent past?

They are still accepted, my understanding is that stocks of the original 2002 design have not been depleted as quickly as the ECB hoped, so no formal plan to phase-out acceptance has been implemented yet.

 

[Giugiaro]

So far, nothing has been said about the old denominations, apart from the end of the 500€ banknote legal tender.

ATMs will spit out old denominations when withdrawing higher values. At least in Portugal.

 

[Doppelganger]

So far, nothing has been said about the old denominations, apart from the end of the 500€ banknote legal tender.

ATMs will spit out old denominations when withdrawing higher values. At least in Portugal.

The €500 note remains legal tender, it is just no longer produced.

 

[Springs Branch]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like it's safe to let the lad loose with my original design euros.

 

[WatcherZero]

The €500 note remains legal tender, it is just no longer produced.

Because it became even more popular than the $100 dollar bill for money smuggling and drug/weapon deals.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Exciting for him; I hope he has a lovely time. Italy is wonderful.

 

[Doppelganger]

Because it became even more popular than the $100 dollar bill for money smuggling and drug/weapon deals.

I'm not disputing the reason that it's no longer produced, but despite that the note remains legal tender, and thus far there has been no announcement when that will change.

 

[JamesT]

Though I assume that Europe is like here, in that Legal Tender is only relevant when settling a debt? Whether a particular method of payment is accepted is entirely up to the retailer.

 

[Giugiaro]

Many shops already don't accept the 500€ banknote as payment. They do recommend you deposit or exchange it at a nearby bank.
The bank will retain the 500€ bill and send it back to the central bank for recycling. The bank won't withdraw money for you in 500€ banknotes anymore.

Also, I don't know if it'll be the case in Italy, but in Portugal, I've seen plenty of shops with a disclaimer saying: "We do not ensure change for 100€ and 200€ banknotes".
If the cashier does not have sufficient change for those bills, they'll refuse the payment with 100€ and 200€ banknotes.

Some smaller stores may even refuse 50€ banknotes.

 

[Howardh]

Many shops already don't accept the 500€ banknote as payment. They do recommend you deposit or exchange it at a nearby bank.
The bank will retain the 500€ bill and send it back to the central bank for recycling. The bank won't withdraw money for you in 500€ banknotes anymore.

Also, I don't know if it'll be the case in Italy, but in Portugal, I've seen plenty of shops with a disclaimer saying: "We do not ensure change for 100€ and 200€ banknotes".
If the cashier does not have sufficient change for those bills, they'll refuse the payment with 100€ and 200€ banknotes.

Some smaller stores may even refuse 50€ banknotes.

Buses on Ibiza won't accept e.20 notes!

 

[WatcherZero]

Though I assume that Europe is like here, in that Legal Tender is only relevant when settling a debt? Whether a particular method of payment is accepted is entirely up to the retailer.

I believe legally here you only have to accept coins as payment and you dont have to accept notes, the exception is restaurants which have to take notes to settle for food already consumed.

 

[JamesT]

I believe legally here you only have to accept coins as payment and you dont have to accept notes, the exception is restaurants which have to take notes to settle for food already consumed.

It’s arguable whether a restaurant bill counts as a debt for legal tender purposes, I’ve seen some commentary that suggests debt is meant in the context of something enforced by a court. Presumably there must be some legal precedent.
In other situations, it’s entirely up to the seller what they accept. Card-only is entirely legal.

 

[zero]

I have had no issues with 1st design €5, €10 and €20 notes anywhere in 2022. I obtain them from UK charities which receive them as donations. Despite them being extremely rare nowadays (I haven't seen any "in the wild" since ~2017), no cashier has given the slightest hint that they thought these old notes were unusual.

In 2019 I had a 1st design €50 and it was treated with a bit of suspicion, but that may have been partly because I was buying something for €4. After they checked it well it was no problem.

Though I assume that Europe is like here, in that Legal Tender is only relevant when settling a debt? Whether a particular method of payment is accepted is entirely up to the retailer.

This is a common law thing.

To my knowledge, the various terms in continental European languages that are translated to "legal tender" in English mean just what you would expect the words "legal tender" to mean, i.e. tender that is legal to use.

I've not looked into it closely for most countries, but for example Norway (not eurozone) says "legal tender" https://www.norges-bank.no/en/topics/notes-and-coins/the-right-to-pay-cash/ means that cash must be accepted for all transactions with a maximum of 25 coins per denomination. (In supermarkets, the machines will stop accepting a certain denomination after you've put 25 in.)

In practice, this rule seems to be routinely flouted and not enforced. I was at a Norwegian hotel which stated it did not accept cash, but a group of guests wanted to pay in cash. The receptionist was a bit flustered as the billing system did not allow any way to enter cash payments. Eventually the manager appeared and showed them the signs outside the hotel saying cash was not accepted - I then stepped in with the page linked above and after reading it, the manager decided to accept the cash, but obviously he had no change to give (they did have the exact amount in the end). All of this was done in English!

 

[busestrains]

Because it became even more popular than the $100 dollar bill for money smuggling and drug/weapon deals.

Strangely though in Switzerland they still produce their CHF1000.00 banknote which is worth £864.23 and this is still in common circulation. The banks over there have said that there is no plans to discontinue them. So i am not sure that the use of large denomination banknotes in money laundering and drug deals and weapon deals is as big of an issue as it is made out to be.

 

[WatcherZero]

Strangely though in Switzerland they still produce their CHF1000.00 banknote which is worth £864.23 and this is still in common circulation. The banks over there have said that there is no plans to discontinue them. So i am not sure that the use of large denomination banknotes in money laundering and drug deals and weapon deals is as big of an issue as it is made out to be.

Numbers are important as well, 47m Swiss 1000 notes, there were 513m 500 Euro notes, the Swiss tend to withdraw their notes more frequently as well, roughly every 15 years on average with the previous 1000 note issued between 1995-1998 being withdrawn In April last year and exchangeable in banks and post offices until Oct last year. Lot more inconvenient to use for illicit trade abroad if you have to physically take it to Switzerland to be exchanged for the new note. By comparison US and Euro notes are never withdrawn from being legal tender (well said they would eventually stop exchanging Euros but not been done so far even the 500's).