The Counterfeit Money Unit's task is to examine and store counterfeit money of any currency which is seized in Germany or confiscated by the police. We also check the authenticity of payment cards, securities, traveller's cheques and gold and silver coins which are legal tender. Another focal point of our work is to prevent the circulation of counterfeit money.

Constans was the youngest son of Constantin I the Great. He was only a boy when his father accorded him the rank of Caesar (emperor-designate). With the death of Constantin I in 337, his three sons Constantin II, Constantius II and Constans adopted the title of Augustus and divided the empire amongst themselves.

Frederick II, of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Sicily, took an extraordinary step when he started minting gold coins in 1231. This is because, for many centuries, the Christian West had been shaped purely by silver currency. Frederick II’s gold coins, called augustales, were something special: the quality of the image and their embossing are unique for their time. Augustales are extraordinary coins minted by an extraordinary ruler.

The Bundesbank’s stand at the Europe Festival in Frankfurt am Main attracted a large number of visitors to the Römerhallen. The stand was also where the Bundesbank’s Executive Board, Frankfurt’s Mayor Mike Josef, President of Frankfurt Main Finance Gerhard Wiesheu, as well as City Treasurer Bastian Berghoff and Councillor Eileen O’Sullivan, gathered to make a joint statement for a cosmopolitan Europe and an appeal for citizens to vote in the European elections on 9 June 2024.

The guineas were introduced in 1663 and remained the principal British gold coin up until 1816. They came into being in the aftermath of the English Civil War (1642–1649). During the war, England was declared a free commonwealth but the English Republic lasted less than 20 years.