Until a few years ago it was possible to propose an interesting effect, using a euro banknote (any), which the spectator took out of his wallet. The serial number consisted of a letter, which identified the country, and a series of numbers; the essential feature was that each country had its own control code; by removing a number it was possible, through a procedure that we will see later, to identify it.
Then new banknotes were printed, with a new type of serial number (before it had a letter, which indicated the country; now it has two letters, the first identifies the country, the second the printing house in which it was produced. This change changed the references and made it impossible to use the old procedure; for some time now we have been seriously searching the net and in the end we have found a solution and have reconstructed a procedure, which you will find below.
What the spectator sees: The spectator is asked to take any euro banknote from his wallet. The performer briefly explains how the serial number of the banknotes is formed and, subsequently, he will demonstrate prodigious memory: the spectator will eliminate a random number and the performer will be able to identify it.
You will find an in-depth explanation of the serial number generation method, a comparison between the original method and the one currently in use, and tables with the references between the codes used and the control composition.
1st edition 2023, PDF 12 pages.
word count: 3293 which is equivalent to 13 standard pages of text