Decision time on the colour of money

Date: 05/09/1996

CENTRAL bankers will begin sifting through hundreds of sketches next week to find the perfect design for the Euro banknote.

As the 13 September deadline approaches for submitting proposals to the European Monetary Institute, more than 50 EU banknote designers are working overtime in the hope of seeing their artwork in the pockets of 200 million Europeans six years from now.

The competition was launched in February for the design of seven Euro banknotes: the five, ten, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500. The contest was open to the 30 or so designers working in banknote printing facilities across the EU, as well as the handful of freelancers and stamp draughtsmen.

The designers have had to work within tight specifications laid out in a 30-page booklet. These include technical demands and standard security features to keep counterfeiting to a minimum, as well as a space - taking up 15&percent; of the note - which will be devoted to national symbols.

Unlike the US dollar, each note will be of a different size and with distinctive colours to make it more easily identifiable by the blind or partially sighted.

At least one prominent Dutch specialist has complained that too much has been left to the discretion of the designers, accusing the central banks of abdicating their responsibility.

But a senior EU official responded: “It is interesting to hear people say that, because others have said that the conditions are too restrictive.”

Under the rules of the competition, designers have had to chose one of two different approaches: Europe's cultural heritage - with one side reflecting a key period of history and the other an architectural feature - or an abstract contemporary design.

Once all the sketches are in, the EMI's experts will start their selection process. A final decision will be taken by the EU's central bank governors when they meet in Frankfurt in December.