Contrary to what many people might believe, bank notes with Elvis Presley on them are not legal tender. So when one ended up in the banking system in Germany the German Central Bank was not best pleased. The illegal tender was one of a number of personalized Elvis novelty notes that are for sale as souvenirs on the Internet to fans of The King. The German Central Bank displayed it and several others in Frankfurt this week as specimens of the 60,000 fakes which managed to get into the country's monetary system last year.
The bank said most bogus Elvis notes come in 200 euro denominations and have a slim line Presley on the front. They also come in sterling. 'Obviously it is a fraud but it entered the banking system so someone got some real money for it,' said a bank spokesman, who was clearly all shook up. Elvis banknotes can be found for sale on Ebay for £1.49 (2.3 euro, 3 dollar). One banknote specialist commented, 'I'm sure lots of people would like to see Elvis on a note, but the Federal Reserve would never do it.