500-euro note gets last print run

Paris - As of 27 January 2019, 17 of the 19 national central banks in the euro-area will no longer issue 500-euro banknote

The eurozone is moving to stop printing 500-euro banknotes, the violet-coloured bills that authorities fear are favoured by criminals, with most of the 19 nations in the currency bloc to halt issuing them next month.
"As of 27 January 2019, 17 of the 19 national central banks in the euro area will no longer issue 500-euro banknotes," the European Central Bank said.
However, Austria and Germany will both continue printing the banknotes until April 26 "in order to ensure a smooth transition and for logistical reasons", the ECB said.
The 500-euro notes in circulation remain legal tender and can be used to make payments.
According to ECB statistics, 500-euro bills account for just 2.4 per cent of the total number of banknotes in circulation, but a little over 20 per cent of the total value. At the end of November there were 521 million of the banknotes in circulation.
The 500-euro banknotes were actually last printed in 2014, with demand satisfied since from stocks.