Serial numbers may hold the key if euro falls apart

As leading German politicians last week called for Greece to be kicked out of the single currency, attention began to focus on what had previously been unthinkable - what would happen to euro notes and coins if the single currency broke apart?



Hans-Peter Friedrich, leader of the conservative Christian Social Union, said Greece should 'seriously consider leaving the eurozone'.



Chancellor Angela Merkel is still backing a multi-billion bailout for Greece, but opinion in her country is sharply divided, with many calling for Greece to be given the elbow, or more dramatically for Germany to quit the euro.

Breaking the code: Each euro note contains a unique prefix which identifies which country issued it



It might be thought that such a plan was impossible with billions of euros in circulation across the eurozone.

But the speculation has led to wild rumours, denied by the Greek government, that Greece is already secretly printing drachma and equally uncorroborated reports that some shopkeepers in Germany are rejecting euros issued in Greece.



Behind the apparent uniformity of the euro currency it is possible to tell the country of origin. Coins are clearly marked. Notes are seemingly identical, but each serial number contains a prefix showing which country issued it.



The serial number also contains a secret clue to the country which issued the note. The clue lies in what is known as the digital root of the serial number. This can be calculated by adding together the digits, then taking the result and adding its digits together again and so on until a single digit is left.





In our example, the code reads X50446027856. The X immediately indicates that the note is German, but a second test is to add the digits. So (5+0+4+4+6+0+2+7+8+5+6) gives 47. Add these digits (4+7) gives 11. Finally add these digits (1+1) gives 2, the code number for Germany. Some countries share a code number.



But while in theory it is possible to identify which country issued the notes, many economists argue this is meaningless and could not be used to split one set of cash from another.



Europe's leaders are at least publicly determined to keep all members inside the euro and as long as they succeed all euros will continue to have the same value.



But in the event of a country falling or being pushed out of the club it will not be long before Europe's shopkeepers and consumers start looking rather more closely at their banknotes.





Land of origin: The code breaker



The 11 digit serial number on every note begins with a prefix which identifies which country issued it.



German notes begin with an X, Greek notes start with a Y, Spain's have a V, France a U, Ireland T, Portugal M and Italy S.



Belgium is Z, Cyprus G, Luxembourg 1, Malta F, Netherlands P, Austria N, Slovenia H, Slovakia E and Finland L.

