Since 27 April 2019, the banknote has no longer been issued by central banks in the euro area, but it continues to be legal tender and can be used as a means of payment.

[5] It is one of the highest-value circulating banknotes in the world, worth around 529 USD; 3 830 CNY; 81 431 JPY; 419 GBP, or 467 CHF as of November 2024.

[6] Initially, the high denomination notes were introduced very rapidly, so that in the first seven years (up to December 2008) there were 530 million five-hundred-euro banknotes in circulation.

[3] The €500 note contains several complex security features such as watermarks, invisible ink, holograms and microprinting that make counterfeiting very difficult.

[8] The earliest date was in Germany, where the mark officially ceased to be legal tender on 31 December 2001,[citation needed] though the exchange period lasted for two months more.

Even after the old currencies ceased to be legal tender, they continued to be accepted by national central banks for periods ranging from ten years to forever.

This decision was due to the suspicion that the notes were widely used for illegal purposes, according to a high-ranking bank official, Benoît Cœuré.

To ensure a smooth transition and for logistic reasons, the Deutsche Bundesbank and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank opted for a longer period, and issued these banknotes until 26 April 2019.

[30] Although Robert Kalina's original designs were intended to show real monuments, for political reasons the bridge and art are merely hypothetical examples of the architectural era.

[38][39][40] However, some of the currencies the euro replaced had widely used high-value notes, including the 5,000 Austrian schillings (€363), the 1,000 Dutch guilders (€454), the 1,000 Deutsche Marks (€511), and the 500 Latvian lats (€711).

[38] This concentration of €500 notes was far greater than expected for an economy of Spain's size; prior to conversion to euro the largest banknote was 10,000 Spanish pesetas, worth about €60.

[41][42] The financial analyst Jeffrey Robinson had warned back in 1998 before issuance that he believed that the €500 note would be used mostly for drug trafficking and money laundering.

[44] As of May 2023[update], €500 was equivalent to about £440,[45] depending on exchange rates (around nine times the value of the Bank of England's largest publicly circulated note of £50), and had, according to SOCA, become the currency choice for criminal gangs to hide their profits.

[44] The EU directive 2005/06/EC "on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing" tries to prevent such crime by requiring banks, real estate agents, tax and business advisors or agents, casinos and more companies to investigate and report usage of cash in excess of €15,000.