The new 100 and 200 euro banknotes of the Europa series enter circulation today. With them, the renewal that began on 2 May 2013 with the new 5 euro is complete: the whole family of notes now in production, from 5 to 200 euro, shares the same visual language and the same updated approach to security.
The two denominations that close the Europa series: 100 and 200 euro enter circulation together on 28 May 2019.
The change is visible immediately in the format. The 100 and 200 euro are now the same height as the 50 euro, unlike the taller notes of the first series. That makes them easier to store in wallets, easier to process in cash-handling machines and more practical for day-to-day logistics in banks and shops.
The security package has also been strengthened. On both denominations, the portrait window appears near the top and reveals the face of Europa when the note is held against the light. When tilted, the glossy stripe shows small euro symbols moving around the denomination numeral, making the effect clearer and easier to verify with the naked eye.
Bringing the 100 and 200 euro into the same security language also makes public checking more consistent. A person who has already learned the portrait window and hologram effects on the 20 or 50 euro can recognise the same family of signs on the higher denominations.
Issuing the 100 and 200 euro together also makes sense visually and operationally. They share the same reduced height, the same revised handling logic and the same position at the upper end of the current production set, so the final step is presented as a paired update rather than two isolated launches.
That paired logic should also be visible when the event is documented. The completion of the series is not the story of the 200 euro alone, but of the last two values entering the same updated family on the same day and under the same technical logic.
This final step matters because the Europa series was introduced gradually over six years, one denomination at a time. That slower rhythm gave central banks, manufacturers and retailers time to update machines, training and handling procedures without disrupting cash circulation across the euro area.
Completion does not mean that first-series notes instantly disappear. They remain valid and are withdrawn only as they return through the banking system. What changes from today is the production reference point: the current euro banknote family is now the Europa series from 5 to 200 euro.
For a collector, that creates a clean timeline. The Europa series has a defined starting point with the 5 euro in 2013 and a defined completion point with the 100 and 200 euro in 2019, while the first-series 500 euro remains as the deliberate exception.
The Europa series stops here. The 500 euro denomination has not been reissued, although the 500 euro notes already issued remain legal tender and retain their value. From today, the highest euro banknotes currently produced are the 100 and the 200, which now close the second generation of euro cash.
