Stash the cash: How burying money cost Portugal millions of euros in the last decade

Burying money is the main reason why, over the last decade, the Bank of Portugal has had to replace 317,000 damaged banknotes worth around €13.8 million that have been handed in by people who want to recover their value.

"The notes are ruined by humidity and most of them are ruined by people burying the notes in the ground. And then the humidity of the earth plus insects cause the banknote to deteriorate," José Luís Ferreira, coordinator of Banco de Portugal's cash operational area, told Euronews.

Although in most cases it is buried, people's creativity when it comes to hiding money knows no bounds. Some people hide their money away in microwaves, fireplaces or even septic tanks.

For José Luís Ferreira, this practice can be associated with a lack of trust in banks or a way of having cash on hand in an emergency situation.

"People think that hiding banknotes will protect their personal valuables from theft and other natural catastrophes. And this practice continues to carry a lot of weight among less literate people," he says.

In 2024 alone, more than 40,000 banknotes were valued, mainly €20 notes (19,983) and €50 notes (11,993), totalling more than €1.7 million, the highest value since 2014.

The structure of cash circulation in Portugal affects the way people build up their savings and their store of value.

This is evident by the number of €20 notes that have increased in value.

As for the €50 note, "it's possible that this may be justified by the fact that people prefer to store value in larger denomination notes and thus reduce the space needed to store them," explains the coordinator of the central bank's cash operational area.

Since 2014, the year with the highest number of surrendered banknotes was 2022, with a total of