10 Euros

The ECB was formally established in June 1998, but the euro banknotes — designed under a pan-European competition won by Robert Kalina of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank — were not introduced into circulation until January 2002. Any note dated 1998 predates public issuance by over three years and belongs to the pre-launch production run, printed well in advance to stock the vaults of twelve national central banks simultaneously for the largest single currency changeover in history.

The 1998 signature series bears the name of Wim Duisenberg, the ECB's first president. Later print runs carried Jean-Claude Trichet's signature from 2003 onward.