CZK 100 to CZK 2,000 banknotes with thin silvery thread no longer valid

CZK 100 to CZK 2,000 banknotes with a thin silvery thread can no longer be used to make cash payments for goods and services. Their validity expired on 30 June 2022. They can be exchanged at the cash offices of banks or at the Czech National Bank for the next 24 months. From July 2024, exchange will only be possible at the CNB (for an unlimited period of time).

The CZK 100, CZK 200, CZK 500, CZK 1,000 and CZK 2,000 banknotes issued in 1995–1999 are invalid from 1 July 2022. The invalid banknotes are most easily identified by the width of the silvery thread – a security feature which crosses the banknote vertically. The thread on the invalid banknotes is narrow and does not change colour when tilted, whereas the valid versions have a wider thread which changes colour from puce to green when tilted. The versions also differ in terms of the year featured on the face side of the banknote and some other security features.

Both versions of the CZK 5,000 banknote remain in circulation, i.e. the version with a thin silvery thread (1999 version) and the version with a wider silvery thread (2009 version). 

Exchange of invalid banknotes with a thin silvery thread will be possible at the cash offices of all banks and also at all seven CNB regional offices  from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024. From 1 July 2024, exchange will be possible only at the CNB’s cash offices for an unlimited period of time. Credit institutions providing cash services and the Czech National Bank must exchange invalid Czech banknotes free of charge, provided that they are sorted by denomination. 

With the exception of credit institutions providing cash services and the Czech National Bank, nobody is obliged to accept or exchange invalid banknotes. Businesses are not obliged to accept invalid money from customers as payment for goods and services. If a legal entity or a bureau de change accepts invalid banknotes by choice, it must not return them into circulation.

Further details, including an infographic on how to easily identify invalid banknotes, are available on a special CNB web page.

Petra Vodstrčilová
CNB spokesperson