Copying of banknotes and coins

The Riksbank often receives enquiries regarding the rules applying to copying of banknotes and coins.

The Riksbank can neither approve nor reject a request for permission to copy banknotes and coins. There is always a risk that a copy of a banknote or coin may be used for fraudulent purposes, that is, as a counterfeit. There is also a risk that the designer of an artwork on a banknote or coin will consider that a copy is a breach of the copyright laws, that is, consider the work of art is not correctly represented. 
 

Risk of counterfeit

According to the Swedish Penal Code it is illegal to counterfeit banknotes and coins, to use counterfeit banknotes and coins or generally to distribute something that can easily be mistaken for a valid banknote or coin; see Chapter 14, Sections 6, 9 and 10 of the Swedish Penal Code.

There are no Swedish regulations stating how a banknote or coin can be copied without risk that the copying is considered criminal.

It may be of interest, however, to compare the Swedish situation with regulations elsewhere, particularly as regards the copying of euro banknotes (see Decision (ECB/2003/4) of the European Central Bank of 20 March 2003 on the denominations, specifications, reproduction, exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes). It is the Riksbank’s view that these principles could be used to guide an assessment of whether or not the copying of a Swedish note can be considered acceptable.

In the Riksbank’s opinion there therefore cannot be any palpable risk that the general public would mistake copies with genuine banknotes issued by the Riksbank if

• the copy only reproduces one side of a banknote, on condition that the dimensions of the copy are at least 125% of both the length and the width or at most 75% of both the length and width of the note according to the dimensions specified for each note in the Swedish Code of Statutes,
  
• the copy reproduces both sides of a banknote, on condition that the dimensions of the copy are at least 200% of both the length and the width or at most 50% of both the length and width of the note according to the dimensions specified for each note in the Swedish Code of Statutes,
  
• the copy only reproduces part of either the face or the reverse of a note, on condition that this part is less than one-third of the original size of the note's face or reverse side,
  
• the copy is made from material that is entirely unlike paper and that looks considerably different from the material used for banknotes,
  
• non-physical copies that are made available electronically on websites or in some other way, on condition
  
  - that the word SPECIMEN is written diagonally across the copy, that the length of the word SPECIMEN is at least 75% of the length of the copy and the height of the word SPECIMEN at least 15% of the width of the copy and that it has been done in an opaque colour that contrasts with the dominant colour on the note, and
   
  - that the resolution of the electronic reproduction in its original size does not exceed 72 dpi. 

There are also regulations regarding the copying of euro coins (COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 46/2009 of 18 December 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 2182/2004 concerning medals and tokens similar to euro coins). It is the Riksbank’s view that parts of these principles could be used to guide an assessment of whether or not the copying of a Swedish coin can be considered acceptable.

The Riksbank therefore advises against manufacturing metal objects that are similar to coins in appearance, size and metal content.

What is stated here is the Riksbank’s view on what might lead to the risk that a copy is considered a counterfeit. However, the Riksbank does not have the authority to make decisions on such matters. It is a public prosecutor who is responsible for deciding whether there are grounds to initiate legal proceedings for breach of the provisions of the Penal Code, and a court of law which determines whether the reproduction is a punishable offence.

Risk of breach of copyright laws

The designer of the artwork on a Swedish banknote or a Swedish coin always has the copyright for the work of art.

Copyright is a collection of rights and includes the sole right to distribute, sell, duplicate and present the work of art and to create similar works of art based on it. The copyright entails the designer having the right to have his or her work correctly depicted and that the work is not changed in a way that is offensive to the designer. It also entails the right to be acknowledged as the originator of this work of art.

The designer of artwork on a banknote or a coin may consider that a copy is in breach of their copyright. Ultimately, the question of legality is determined by a prosecutor and court of law.