Why does Europe have a seemingly 'useless' paper currency: 0 Euro bill, even cost to buy?

 The 0 Euro banknote is a European 'specialty'.

The zero-value banknote is perhaps unique in the European Union. In terms of security features to prevent counterfeiting, it is exactly the same as other 'real' denominations: watermarks, UV ink, holograms or microprints.

The 0 Euro bill is printed like real money.

They are fully authorized by the European Central Bank and if it weren't for the zero identification, it would be very easy to confuse it with other actual Euro bills such as 5 Euro, 20 Euro bills.

So what are these 0 Euro bills and why are they there?

Euro is a special kind of banknote when it is not the currency of a single country, but the common currency of an area of ​​many different countries - the European Union.

Despite the diversity of culture, geography, history. of the countries in the region, Euro banknotes are actually quite boring when today they only consist of 6 official denominations, namely 5, 10, 20 bills. , 50, 100, 200 Euros. From 2013 onwards there was an additional 500 Euro note, but it was dropped on the second issue.

Euro denominations.

Moreover, to avoid creating a feeling of favoritism when one country is featured on the bill, and another country is not, the decorative drawings and symbols on these 6 official bills are all fake works.

This choice is quite odd when in common countries, the banknotes are printed with great figures of the country with typical landmarks. However, it is the most fair and reasonable choice for a land as diverse as the EU.

Nor can they print hundreds of different versions of the banknotes, each with a picture of a different country's landscape, because that would confuse tourists or even EU citizens. Moreover, that choice will also create an incalculable danger that counterfeit money printing is extremely difficult to control.

Therefore, the 0 Euro bill was created with the sole purpose of being a souvenir so that Europe could promote its image and stature without affecting the official banknotes in economic activities.

The 0 Euro banknote is printed for the purpose of promoting tourism.

Its origins date back to France in 2015 after Richard Faille, the creator of popular French currency souvenirs, decided to create a 0 Euro coin to promote tourism. These banknotes are printed at a private trust and they have many of the same features as real Euros except that they are marked '0', and are checked to make sure they cannot circulate as a currency. legal financial currency.

The front of all 0 Euro bills are the same and it consists of a white zero followed by a Euro symbol to indicate no financial value. Then (from left to right) are pictures of the Brandenburg Gate, Big Ben, Eiffel Tower, Colosseum, Sagrada Familia Church, Manneken Pis and Mona Lisa - symbols of the continent.

Front of 0 Euro bill.

Originally created for tourism and promotional purposes, this 0 Euro currency soon became a sort of 'encyclopedia' of Europe and a rich and interesting source of collectibles for collectors.

Interesting facts about the 0 Euro banknote

For the purpose of promotion and collection, it is not difficult to understand that since its inception, the 0 Euro note has had thousands of different versions and each country has its own special versions.

A YouTuber named Chris has painstakingly collected 0 Euro banknotes in several European countries. In France, banknotes with the image of the Arc de Triomphe are sold at the tourist destination it promotes. In addition, 2 banknotes printed with the image of the Basilica. The Sacré-Cœur and the Eiffel Tower are special in that they are polymer money, not paper money like regular Euro bills.

0 Euro banknote with the image of the Arc de Triomphe. The sign in the upper right corner is the Eiffel Tower viewed from above.

Another interesting feature is that the watermarks and holograms on the 0 Euro banknotes feature the Eiffel Tower with a top-down view.

The rarest 0 Euro banknote?

For collectors, rare coins always carry a strange attraction and the 0 Euro bill for entertainment purposes, pure collection is no exception. The rarest version of the 0 Euro note is the one with the image of the Marineland aquarium in France, with the image of two dolphins jumping out of the water.

The 0 Euro note is said to be the rarest today.

In 2015, not long after the coin was issued, the Marineland aquarium suffered a severe flood, causing many marine life here to die. But the other significant damage was the printer that printed the 0 Euro note and therefore no more Marineland notes have been shipped since that flood.

According to Chris, this dolphin-printed zero-euro note is now very rare, so its price on the collector's market has accelerated 'like a rocket'

Britain also has a 0 Euro note

Another interesting fact is that although it has never used an official Euro note but still uses Queen Elizabeth II pounds, the UK still has a 0 Euro note from its time in the European Union.

0 Euro banknote commemorating the 2018 World Cup of England.

Some of the works printed on the UK's 0 Euro note are Big Ben Tower, London Tower Bridge, the 'London Eye' Wheel, Buckingham Palace and even the famous Titanic ship.

In addition to the UK, which used to be a member of the EU, some other European countries also own their own 0 Euro bills even though they are not part of the European Union, typically Iceland, Norway, Russia. There are also some countries though. belong to the EU but do not use the official Euro but have this special souvenir, such as Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden.