MADRID: The number of 500-euro banknotes officially in circulation in Spain continued its downward trend in March, 500-euro banknotes become scarcer in Spain reaching a total of 71.8 million notes or €35,916 million, the lowest since January 2005.
Although no such opinion has been expressed other than in the media, it’s commonly held that large quantities of 500 euro notes disappeared behind sofas and under beds during the construction boom years when Spain had more high denomination notes than any other Eurozone nation, and that since the implosion of the construction sector these have been slowly filtering back into circulation as families dip into their savings.