The Bank of Portugal (BdP) operates a service dedicated to assessing the value of damaged banknotes and coins, affected by incidents such as fires, floods, or having been buried. Once assessed, the corresponding value is returned to the holders.
In 2024, the Bank of Portugal manually assessed 587,489 banknotes, returning 12.4 million euros to presenters. The majority of these notes exhibited issues like creases, tears, or damage from fire, moisture, or other elements.
The central bank also evaluated 277,592 coins, with reimbursements totaling 60,600 euros.
Individuals with damaged or mutilated banknotes—affected by moisture, burning, or animal damage, among other reasons—can send them to the Bank of Portugal for valuation.
For a euro note to be eligible for valuation, more than 50% of its surface must be reconstructible to verify its authenticity based on security features. In the case of former Portuguese escudo notes, 75% was required.
Once labeled as restorable, the damaged note is destroyed, and the equivalent monetary value is given to the individual.
However, if the notes are beyond recognition, they are considered lost, destroyed, and the owner receives no compensation.
All instances of damaged notes reaching the Bank of Portugal are reported to legal authorities to mitigate potential criminal activities.
During the 2008 banking crisis, when fears of bank failures and savings loss were rife, many people withdrew money and stored it at home. Years later, when retrieving these notes, many found them damaged. A similar situation occurred in 2022 on the island of São Jorge (Azores) due to fears of volcanic eruptions destroying homes. People retrieved their stored money for banking, discovering its condition and later sought the Bank of Portugal’s help for valuation.
Additionally, tinted notes suffer damage from accidental discharges in ATMs or cash transport cases and can also be assessed.
Although coins are sturdier, they likewise undergo valuation, provided their authenticity and the unintentional nature of the damage are confirmed.
The Monetary Issuance Report revealed that in 2024, the Bank of Portugal verified the authenticity and quality of 405 million notes and 90 million coins, identifying 104 million notes and 485,000 coins unfit for circulation.
In the same year, the Bank of Portugal produced 165.5 million 20-euro notes via its subsidiary, Valora.
The net issuance of banknotes in Portugal—the balance of all outgoing and incoming notes—was negative at 28.8 billion euros by the end of 2024, surpassing the previous year’s negative figure.
In 2024, there were 5.649 billion euros in notes dispatched from the Bank of Portugal, with 9.740 billion euros deposited.
The central bank attributes the negative net issuance to changes in its treasury operations, which encouraged the exchange of notes among credit institutions and cash transport companies.
This measure’s impact on incoming note volume was, however, cushioned by tourism growth, contributing to an accumulation of notes within the central bank.
The net issuance of coins saw an increase in 2024. The bank distributed 66.5 million euros in coins, with 38.9 million euros returned.
