The ECB today released the latest figures for counterfeit euro banknotes recovered from circulation.
While I don’t in any way condone the production of counterfeit notes, the Keynesian in me at least would like to know the value of such notes.
The ECB reports by the number of banknotes recovered, and by % of notes for each denomination. So, getting the calculator out, we can see that in H2 2010 there were (Value for each denomination)
| €5 | €10 | €20 | €50 | €100 | €200 | €500 |
| €9100 | €54600 | €2766400 | €7917000 | €4914000 | €1092000 | €2730000 |
Total: for H2 2010 €19,483,100
Which is hardly much of stimulus from the counterfeiters during the second half of 2010..
As a percentage of the total amount of cash in the eurosystem, this is a tiny fraction. There are currently approximately €815bn worth of euro banknotes in circulation, so €19.5m is only 0.0024% of that total.
Seems that when it comes to creating extra euros, we will have to continue to rely more on certain Central Banks than on garden shed counterfeiters. In the six months that the amateurs needed to create less than €20m, the professionals created €36,713m.