Coming on the first day for Portugal to wake up to a new political reality, the Bank of Portugal is launching the “Europa” series of €20 notes, designed to make counterfeiting a great deal more difficult, if not impossible.
Up until now, the €20 note has been the one most copied by criminals, bank director João Amaral Tomaz explained in a ceremony in Lisbon presenting the note which is being launched on Wednesday in 18 other European countries.
An adaptation that renders forgery more complex is a window within the standard hologram that shows the “European goddess” from both sides.
This latest note joins the series’ €5 and €10 notes introduced in 2013 and 2014.
The series is dedicated to architectural styles from seven periods.
The €5 note shows the ‘classical’, the €10 the ‘Romanesque’ and this latest shows the ‘Gothic’.
Next up will be the €50 (Renaissance), €100 (Baroque and Rococo), €200 (iron and glass) and €500 (2oth century).
