OeBS is the banknote printing subsidiary of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, based in Vienna. It prints the Austrian euro allocation and also produces for other central banks, inside and outside the euro area.
| Country | Austria |
|---|---|
| Printing site | Vienna |
| First-series printer letter | F |
| Europa-series printer letter | N |
| Europa-series control number | 3 |
| Status | Active |
The Oesterreichische Nationalbank in Vienna. OeBS, its banknote printing company, works in the same city.
An Austrian house with a long memory
Banknote printing in Vienna under central-bank control goes back to 1816, the year the Austrian national bank was founded, and the works presents that continuity as one of its credentials. The modern company was set up so that the printing operation could run as a limited company while remaining owned by the central bank.
Alongside printing, OeBS develops security features and provides technical services to other issuers, which is why its name appears in projects well beyond Austria’s own currency needs.
Printing for its neighbours
Austria’s own allocation is modest, so the plant has taken on production for other Eurosystem members. After the Belgian central bank closed its works in 2020, part of the Belgian allocation moved to Vienna and to Valora in Portugal. That arrangement shows how the production code and the country of issue drift apart over time.
Letters F and N
The Vienna works carried the letter F in the first series and became N, control number 3, in the Europa series. As always, the letter states where a sheet was printed. The rest of the production code and the reassignment between series are described in printing offices and printer codes.
_-_Hauptgeb%C3%A4ude_der_%C3%96sterreichischen_Nationalbank.JPG){kind=link}