500 euro note - are these legal tender or will I need to take it to a bank?

haddockman said:
Are these legal tender?
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Yes.

Euro Banknotes | Central Bank of Ireland

There are seven denominations of euro banknotes, €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10 and €5 which embody the shared theme of ‘Ages and styles of Europe’.
www.centralbank.ie www.centralbank.ie
After the issuance stop, the €500 banknote will remain legal tender and can continue to be used as a means of payment and store of value.
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But I wouldn't be surprised if many retailers or others might be reluctant to accept them (e.g. due the risk of counterfeits or just the hassle of being cleared out of their till float cash when giving change etc.) so you may still need to go to the bank to change them.
The €500 banknote, like the other denominations of euro banknotes, will always retain its value and can be exchanged at the national central banks of the Eurosystem for an unlimited period of time. The Central Bank of Ireland provides a facility for the exchange of high value euro currency banknotes at our public office in North Wall Quay (limited number of notes permitted per transaction).
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And, yes, retailers can refuse legal tender.
 
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The easiest thing is to lodge it at your local bank. They're almost impossible to use; I had one that I kept for a while, more for the novelty value of having something so rare.
 
There is a huge mistaken idea that a retail store must "legally" take legal tender.

Primarily because 99% of people don't understand the legal meaning of "legal tender"

For the OP, the €500 note is no longer issued by the European Central Bank. The Irish Central Bank never issued any officially on the Irish market, but they obviously found their way into circulation.

It is highly unlikely that any retail store will take it unless they know you very well and do it as a favour, so you are best going into a bank and getting it changed or lodging it to your account.
 
Drug dealers love the €500 euro notes. Cuts down on the weight of shipping large amounts of currency to be laundered. €1m weighs 10kg, so you can cutting that right down to 2kg and a lot less space, so it can be hidden easier.
 
Dr Strangelove said:
Except it’s a massive red flag whenever you need the cash to enter the banking system.
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it was the reason they were discontinued though. I've personally never seen one (and I think I've only seen the €200 once).
I think the larger denomination notes are more commonly used in other countries. Very unusual to see anything larger than 50 in Ireland.

If you bring a 500 into a bank, do they take it out of circulation?
 
shweeney said:
If you bring a 500 into a bank, do they take it out of circulation?
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Don't think so.

Euro Banknotes | Central Bank of Ireland

There are seven denominations of euro banknotes, €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10 and €5 which embody the shared theme of ‘Ages and styles of Europe’.
www.centralbank.ie www.centralbank.ie
Commercial parties (such as banks, cash-in-transit companies, bureaux de change, etc) are allowed to recirculate €500 banknotes.
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There certainly doesn't seem to be any policy of taking them out of circulation judging by that Central Bank of Ireland web page.
 
I seen a bunch a few years ago. Got paid 2k for a photography job I had to do (wedding) with 4 notes! I was a bit hesitant to take it, but payment was before the job so just went into the bank to lodge it, and the cashier didn't even look twice at it or check them!
 
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