Theme : Zodiac signs 19

Liechtenstein, the small nation squeezed in between Switzerland and Austria, has a rich history of high quality stamps.
Especially in Europe, lots of collectors (used to) collect Liechtenstein as an addition to their own country, as the stamps were interesting, and highly in demand.
Nowadays Liechtenstein is not that 'hot' anymore, but still worth collecting.

This post, is a joined issue of 1976, 1977 and 1978.
In each year, 4 stamps were emitted, from a set of 12 zodiac signs.

12 zodiac signs, issued in 1976-1978

Each stamp had a different face value, but some values (like 80 cents) were used twice.

The design is very colourful and artistic, and depics the western zodiac signs.
Often, Liechtenstein emits engraved stamps, unfortunately these sets were not engraved, but still they are among my favourite zodiac signs.

0-euro notes : 2 b. Finland

The second 0-euro note related to Santa and Christmas, comes also from Finland.
The first version is from 2018 (as it's the second note in the "Santa Claus' Main Post Office"-set, it gets date 2018-2), there are 10,000 copies.
Similar to the previous note, this one was reissued in 2019 (2019-2) now on 5,000 copies.

Serial numbers are LE (Finland) AH (AH-design) + 6 digits with dates 2018-2 or 2019-2.

0 euro LEAH (6) - 2018-2

On the image we see Santa's Office, where he receives and replies letters from children all over the world.

Santa Claus' post office in Rovanieme (Finland)

Santa Clause Post Office Seal

The Finns claim that Santa lives in Rovaniemi (Lapland) near the Polar circle.
But according the Danish, Santa lives in Greenland, in the city of Uummannaq.
And Santa's Little Helper lives in Springfield.... but that's another story...

0-euro notes : 2 a. Finland

What a better way to post my first 0-euro note, with Santa.

Santa, or Santa Claus who is apprearing in December, is a mixture of many old customs.
In the low countries, (Belgium and the Netherlands), Saint Nicolas comes in the night of his name day (Dec. 6), with gifts for the good children.
The legend of the Turkish bisshop of Myra (280 - 342 or 352 A.D.) who died on Dec. 6, tells the story of a man who was good to people in general and specificly to children.

Nicolas of Myra (280-342(352))

One legend tells that he resurected 3 students, who were killed by a innkeeper, who had the 3 bodies hidden in a barrel with brine.
A similar story exists in France, where a bucher who killed 3 children. Saint Nicolas saved them and brought them back to their parents...

Another legend, tells the story of a poor man who had no change of giving away his 3 daughters for marriage, as he could not afford the drowry. However the man (and his daughters) were saved from poverty, as 3 times, golden coins flew through the open window into the shoes of the girls...

Saint Nicolas (Sinterklaas)

Until today, children put their shoes (or socks) so that Santa can fill them with toys and chocolate coins.

The stories of Saint Nicolas entered the Americas by the Dutch colonists in the early 19th century. They were mixed up with anglosaxian stories of Father Christmas, and resulted in a 'modern' version of the two customs.
Probably is the Russian 'Father Frost' also part of the new Santa.
"Ded Moroz" lives in the cold northern Russia, and brings gifts to the people on December 31.

Ded Moroz

In 1931, the American drafstman Haddon Sundblom, made some drawings of Santa for the Coca Cola company. He gave Santa his current, 'modern' look.

Finland emitted in 2018 two notes: Santa Claus' Main Post Office - Artic Circle 66°33'07"N.
The first note (2018-1) shows Santa enjoying his hot tea (or Glühwein).

0 euro Finland - Santa Claus' Main Post Office

This note exists in 10,000 copies and was reprinted in 2019 (LEAH (6) /2019-1 in 5,000 copies.

At the back of the note, we see design C (with European buildings - Belèm Tower)

revers side - design C

to be continued...

0-euro notes : 1 b. Belgium : comics

Belgium is known for food and drinks,
Belgium owns the world record of the country with the longest period without government (541 days after the elections or 589 days after the previous goverment fell.

And... it's the country known for it's imaginary people and surrealistic images.

Magritte's paintings, a peeing boy as one of the national symbols, Jean-Claude Van Damme or the muscles from Brussels (who isnt from Damme, nor from Brussels actually), Agata Christy's detective character : Hercules Poirot, Hergé's Tintin, the smurfs, Lucky Luke,....

Comic books are part of the national culture, and if you end up as a comic book character, you've made it in life in Belgium.

railway station Antwerp (Belgium)

In 2017, part of the magnificent railway station of Antwerp, opened an interactive museum with some of the most popular childrens' comic book characters, (Jommeke, Suske&Wiske, the smurfs, Lucky Luke, Urbanus, and the Kiekeboe family).

0 euro Belgium - Comics

1. Jommeke
2. Suske & Wiske
3. papa Smurf
4. Lucky Luke
5. Fanny Kiekeboe (from the Kiekeboes)
6. Urbanus - an actual living person, who managed to become a comic book character during his life

Many of the comic books have been translated into foreign language and find their ways to children and adults world wide.

"Jommeke" became 'Jie Mie' (Jimmy) in China:

Chinese version of Jommeke (Jie Mie)

Suske and Wiske - books have been issued by in many languages already....

Lucius et Lucia (Latin) - Bob e Bobette (Italian) - Suske en Wiske (Dutch) - Chinese - Greek - Finn och Fiffi (Swedish) - Cisko kay Vinjo (Esperanto (green cover)) - Arabic - Suske und Wiske (German) - Finn & Fiffi (Danish)

The Smurfs are known world wide...

Papa Smurf and Gargamel the villain

Lucky Luke smoking and shooting faster than his shadow

The Kiekeboes - a belgian family where anything can happen, and so it does

Konstantinopel - Marcel - Charlotte and Fanny Kiekeboe

Urbanus - himself

All images of the comic book characters belong to the respective owners (desingers and/or companies). I do not own or claim any of those characters and mentionning them here, is only for informative purpose.
Jommeke by Jef Nys -  Suske and Wiske by (studio) Willy Vandersteen - the smurfs by Péyo - Lucky Luke by Morris - the Kiekeboes by Merho - and Urbanus by Willy Linthout and by himself .

0-euro notes : 1 a. Belgium : beers

First thing that pops in someones mind if you mention Belgium, will probably be beer and (french) fries. And yes, they are Belgian and not French!

Anyhow, Belgian beers are known, appreciated and drunk world wide.
Reasons enough to dedicate a 0-euro note to this world cultural heritage.

0-euro Belgium ZEAD

In the central image, we see a wooden barrel with some beers.

0-euro Belgium ZEAD - detail

A nice image, although beers nowaday is brewed in copper or other metal kettles. On the left we see hop cones, barly, wheat, ... and on the right, some beer in diffente glasses. Yes beer is supposed to be drunk from glasses!

The note has a serial number with: ZE (Belgium) AD (AD-design) and 6 digits. The year is 2018-1 and the note was printed on 5,000 copies.

1. ZE (Belgium)
2. AD (type or design for that specific year)
3. serial number (6 digits)

The back side is design C.

more to follow...

0-euro notes : 0 d. Introduction

Some extra remarks on the serial numbers:

Austria has Euro notes starting with N. The 0-euro notes therefore also start with NE.
In 2017 a 0-euro note was emitted with XELH.... X is the letter for Germany

From 2018 on, new notes get a serial number with a logic sequence, for example Finand: L(E)...
Notes start with LE AA, LE AB, LE AC, ...
I's and O's are not used to avoid confusion with 1's and 0's, so it goes from LE AH to LE AJ and from LE AN to LE AP.
This is often the case, for example Mexican  notes don't have I's and O's in serial numbers either.

Before 2018, Seral numbers start with rather random codes (Finland 2017 : LE PZ...)

Most notes were printed on 5,000 or 10,000 copies.
In few exceptions, there are less, sometimes there are 20,000 30,000 or even 35,000 copies.
If a design is reprinted, the date will show 2019 - 2 (second printing).
Some French notes were reprinted 6 times so far.

In some cases the numbering adds up, despites the fact that the design is not the same.
One example is a set of notes issued by the Zoo of Duisburg (Germany).
The title of each note is : ZOO DUISBURG, therfore the numbering adds up (since the depicted theme remains the same), on the note however, we see different animals on the different notes in the set.

Zoo Duisbrug 2017 - 3

Zoo Duisbrug 2017 - 4

Zoo Duisburg 2017 - 5

Another remark goes for some special sets, like the set that was issued for the Wold Soccer championship in 2018.
Several counties which participated at the Soccer Worl Cup, issued a 0-euro note.
In the titel we see the country name (so each note has a different 'title)' and a different image of a player and a typical artefact from the home country.
The code next to the flag adds up :

2018 - 7 - DK

2018 - 8 - JP

2018 - 31 - TN

This is a special edition of the 0-euro note.

To be complete, some notes were also issued on polymere paper.
These are issued in different amounts (2017 copies) and all have a serial number starting with UE ...CO... regardless the country.

Polymere note : marked 'collector 2017'

serial numbers UE ... CO ......

And finally, some blank or perforated notes exist too.
These notes are issued with 'specimen' as perforation, and don't bare an image at the front side.

To be continued...

0-euro notes : 0 c. Introduction

As last part of my 'introduction' to 0-euro notes, I can show you the 2018 catalog of those notes.

The 1st edition of the catalogue was issued in 2018, and has over 400 pages in colour.
Each note has a description of what is depicted, serial number and issue number is mentioned, and explained.

The catalogue 'value' of each note is an indication of the rarity and the demand on the market for each note.
A 2019 issue of a Turkish 0-euro note with the image of Kemal Attatürk and his mausoleum, was sold out so fast, that prices reach up to € 60 - € 70 per copy!
Luckily, most notes are available for € 3 / € 4 / € 5 each (3.5 - 5.5 USD)

A list of 0-euro issuing countries (situation end 2019) :

to be continued...

0-euro notes : 0 b. Introduction

Similar to Euro coins, each 0-euro note has a common size, which is common for all notes:

On the 2015 (first) notes, only French buildings were depicted, as only French subject were on the front of each note.

2015 version (French buildings only)

Here we find also the Eiffel tower ....
Pont du Gard (close to Nîmes, Uzès and Avignon) - oldest bridge of France (1st century A.D.)
Mont Saint Michel (Bretagne)
Cathedral of Reims (Reims)

In 2016, the notes were issued in other countries and the design became 'European'

2016 version (European buildings)

It depicts several famous European buildings - how many of them can you recognise and where are they located?

Big Ben (London - United Kingdom)
Brandenbruger Tor (Berlin - Germany)
Collosseum (Rome - Italy)
Eiffel Tower (Paris - France)
Sagrada Familia (Barcelona - Spain)
Manneke Pis statue (Brussels - Belgium)
Mona Lisa (Italy / Louvre Paris France)

Finally in 2017 - because of the Brexit, the design was renewed, and the Big Ben was replaced by another monument ...
Belém Tower (Lissabon - Portugal)

2017 and later version (European buildings)

Besides the 3 different designs at the back of the notes (design A, B and C)
There is also a small difference on the front of the designs :

Design A has extra marks on the border of the note.The notes have a minimum issue of 5,000 copies each, but mostly printed in 10,000 copies.

Some subject were/are so popular, that the topics are reprinted the next year.
On the front of the notes, we find the year of issue, followed by the number of the issue.
Same designs that are repeated, get a '2' or '3' (or higher) behind the year.
A '1' means there is only one version, or this note is the first issued version.

2017 issue - version 1

2018 issue - version 2

2017 issue - version 3

The 0-Euro note of Napoléon I, exists in 3 printings, with 3 different reverse sides.

On the front, the topics started with historical building, famous events or people, but was soon commerialised, and theme parks, cultural heritage, rulers, and even private events were chosen.
You can have your own notes printed, but there is a minimum of 5,000 copies, which will cost you between 5,000 and 10,000 euro (design not included)...
In return you'll get your own 'banknotes', worth at least ... 0 Euro.

to be continued ...

0-euro notes : 0 a. Introduction

Although postal services do their utmost to innovate and deliver high quality stamps (with lots of extra's), snail mail is not that cool anymore.
Stamp collecting - unfortunately - isn't florishing among youngsters and starting up a collection is not easy. Year sets nowadays cost a fortune, and only the patient ones (or the rich) can afford a complete collection.

Banknotes and coins are as interesting to collect, but with electronic payment methods, even  'cash money' is dissapearing from daily life. When Europe switched to Euro-currency, all national currencies dissapeared and along with it, also the wide variety in banknotes and coins.
Luckily the 2-euro coins opened a new range of collecting possibilities;

Since 2015 a new collectors' item has seen daylight.

What started as a way to promote touristic locations in France, soon became a new way to attract collectors and touristic sites. The 0-euro banknote was born.
Face value is ... 0, a piece of paper that promotes a touristic site or event, such as the Eiffel tower, the Pisa tower, the Sagrada Familia ....

These collective notes with themes from all over Europe are often made in a limited edition (5.000 or 10.000). The notes are printed at the official Euro bank note printers and contain all the usual elements and security features of the euro notes.
The designer of the original Euro notes is also the man behind the 0-euro notes, the Austrian designer Robert Kalina.

Robert Kalina - picture ECB

Every year, new sites are added, new countries are joining, and even previous issues are being re-issued.
Before I go deeper into some specific notes, a small overview of returning items on each note.

Nearly each note has a European flag in the design.
Those notes are printed in Europe (even those from China, Canada, USA ...)

0 euro note France

0 euro note Vatican city

0 euro note USA

 One exception ... the 0-euro notes printed in Switzerland have a Swiss flag.

Since the notes are printed by the official banknote printers, they bare the same serial number system as the euro notes.
see my previous post : https://rainbowstampsandcoins.blogspot.com/2012/08/banknotes-security-marks-2b-part-2.html

U : France

S : Italy (here Vatican City)

For countries outside the Euro-zone, another land code is used :

Swiss serial number (CH ...)

Chinese serial number (CN ...)

Peru serial number (PR ...)

to be continued...