More counterfeit banknotes were discovered in German payment transactions in the first half of the year than at any time in the last seven years, the German Bundesbank central bank said on Friday. In the first six months of the year, authorities discovered 38,578 counterfeit banknotes with a face value of €2.4 million ($2.6 million). That’s the highest half-year total since 2017, when authorities seized 39,685 counterfeit banknotes, and 29% more than in the second half of 2023. Accounting for 37% of the counterfeit notes, counterfeit €50 bills were the most common type of note in circulation, …