In the serial numbers of the banknotes found in the “Ages and Styles
of Europe” series, also known as the “2002” series, the first letter
represents the country that the banknote was issued by. In the second
series (the “Europa” series) the first letter no longer represents the
issuing country but instead the location at which the banknote was
printed.
No €5 banknotes were printed for the “Ages and Styles of Europe”
series which bear the signature of Mario Draghi.
The €500 banknote was discontinued and withdrawn from circulation with
the release of the “Europa” series.