The two hundred euro note (€200) is the second highest value euro banknote (and the highest value banknote in production) and has been used since the introduction of the euro (in its cash form) in 2002. The note is used in the 25 countries that have the euro as their sole currency (with 23 legally adopting it); with a population of about 343 million. In July 2023, there were about 849,000,000 €200 banknotes in circulation around the eurozone. It is the second least widely circulated denomination, accounting for 2.9% of the total banknotes.
It is the second-largest note, measuring 153 × 82 mm, and the first series has a yellow colour scheme and the second series has a brown colour scheme. The two hundred euro banknotes depict bridges and arches/doorways in Art Nouveau style (19th and 20th centuries). The €200 note contains several complex security features such as watermarks, invisible ink, holograms and microprinting that document its authenticity.
The new banknotes of the Europa series 200 euro banknote was released on 28 May 2019.
History
The euro was founded on 1 January 1999, when it became the currency of over 300 million people in Europe. For the first three years of its existence it was an invisible currency, only used in accountancy. Euro cash was not introduced until 1 January 2002, when it replaced the national banknotes and coins of the countries in eurozone 12, such as the Finnish markka.
In 2007, Slovenia was the first country to adopt the Euro since the introduction of Euro notes and coins in 2002, followed by Cyprus and Malta in 2008, Slovakia in 2009, Estonia in 2011, Latvia in 2014, Lithuania in 2015, with Croatia being the most recent country to join the Eurozone in 2023.
The changeover period
The changeover period during which the former currencies' notes and coins were exchanged for those of the euro lasted about two months, from 1 January 2002 until 28 February 2002. The official date on which the national currencies ceased to be legal tender varied from member state to member state. The earliest date was in Germany, where the mark officially ceased to be legal tender on 31 December 2001, though the exchange period lasted for two months after that. Even after the old currencies ceased to be legal tender, they continued to be accepted by national central banks for ten years or more.
Changes
Notes printed before November 2003 bear the signature of the first president of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg, who was replaced on 1 November 2003 by Jean-Claude Trichet, whose signature appears on issues from November 2003 to March 2012. Notes issued after March 2012 bear the signature of the third president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi.
Until now there has been only one series of euro notes; however a new series, similar to the current one, is planned to be released. The European Central Bank will in due course announce when banknotes of the first series lose legal tender status.
As of June 2012, current issues do not reflect the expansion of the European Union: Cyprus is not depicted on current notes, as the map does not extend far enough east; and Malta is also missing as it does not meet the current series' minimum size for depiction. The European Central Bank plans to redesign the notes every seven or eight years, and a second series of banknotes is already in preparation. New production and anti-counterfeiting techniques will be employed on the new notes, but the design will be of the same theme and colours identical to the current series: bridges and arches. However, they will still be recognisable as a new series.
Design
The €200 note measures × and has a yellow colour scheme. All euro banknotes depict bridges and arches/doorways, each in a different historical European style: the €200 note shows the Art Nouveau era (19th and 20th centuries). Although Robert Kalina's original designs were intended to show real monuments, for political reasons the bridge and art are merely hypothetical examples of the architectural era.
Like all euro notes, it contains the denomination, the EU flag, the signature of the president of the ECB and the initials of that bank in different EU languages, a depiction of EU territories overseas, the stars from the EU flag and twelve security features as listed below.