Banknotes and coins

Banknotes statistics refer to data on outstanding amounts (stocks) and transactions (flows) of euro banknotes and coins, divided into: issued into circulation, returned from circulation, sorted to check authenticity & fitness and sorted to unfit during the reporting period. The dataset includes also data on collector coins issued net of collector coins returned. Data on the number of NCBs and commercial banks branches which provides cash related services are also included.

For non-euro area Member States, banknotes and coins in circulation as well as collector coins are provided.

The ECB closely monitors the stock and circulation of euro banknotes and coins. It is the Eurosystem’s task to ensure a smooth and efficient supply of euro banknotes and to maintain their integrity. Euro banknotes and coins first came into circulation on 1 January 2002, replacing national currencies. Today, euro banknotes and coins are legal tender in 16 of the 27 Member States of the European Union.

For the euro area Member States: banknotes and coins are available in ‘thousands’ of euro or as a pure number (quantities). For non-euro area Member States: banknotes and coins are available in ‘thousands’ of national currency units, for each country.

For euro area Member States, the ECB publishes data on a monthly basis (around the 12th working day). Data on cash logistics are published at semi-annual frequency. Time series start from January 2002.

For non-euro area Member States, the ECB collects banknotes and coins data as part of the “payments statistics” reporting framework. This data collection takes place in Q3 of each year, and publication takes place the same year, in mid-September. Time series start from January 2000.