Pontes

$PONTES A tribute token marking the end of an era in European numismatic design. Background Since their introduction in 2002, euro banknotes have featured a series of bridges on their reverse side — one for each denomination, rendered in a distinct architectural style spanning Classical to Modern periods. Notably, none of these bridges correspond to any real structure; they were deliberately designed as fictional composites to avoid favoring any single EU member state's actual landmarks. On 23 July 2026, the European Central Bank unveiled ten finalist designs for the first complete redesign of euro banknotes since their introduction, organized around two new themes: "European culture" (featuring figures such as Maria Callas, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Marie Curie) and "Rivers and birds" (featuring European wildlife and river landscapes). The ECB's public survey on these designs closes today, 21 September 2026, with the Governing Council's final decision expected by year's end. Whichever theme is chosen, the fictional bridge motif that has anchored the reverse of every euro note for over two decades will not carry forward into the new series. $PONTES — from the Latin pontes, "bridges" — commemorates the design element being retired: two decades of bridges that connected nowhere, crossed nothing, and were only ever meant to be diplomatically inoffensive.