Is the battle against the counterfeiting of euro coins being lost?
In January 2005 the European Anti-Fraud Office [OLAF] published the number of counterfeit euro coins withdrawn by banks etc. from circulation in 2004. These totalled 74,564 against 26,191 withdrawn in 2003, a 285 percent increase. The graph to the left shows the breakdown of the counterfeits by denomination. 87 percent of the counterfeits were of the 2-euro coin. As in previous years the German national side was the most copied followed by the French and Spanish sides. Counterfeit coins copying the national sides of all the euro members have now been found. The German Federal Bank reported the withdrawal of a small number of 20-cent euro counterfeits. These counterfeits did not appear in the central European figures. Also in 2004 85,119 counterfeit coins were seized before they entered circulation. In the context of 56 billion euro coins in circulation the number of counterfeits withdrawn by the banks is very small. However there does appear to be a difference in the tone between the O
