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The article discusses the notions concerning the interests harmed by money counterfeiting and the anti-counterfeiting legislation of European Union (EU) Member States. Money counterfeiting has been considered under national legal system as an extremely serious offence, able to harm a number of important entities. Over the centuries, it has often been punished as a crimen laesae majestatis since it affects one of the very exclusive powers of a sovereign authority, namely the power of money issuance. Nonetheless, legislators and literature have dropped the concept of crimen laesae majestatis and focused on the role played by money in contemporary trade and on the damaging potential of counterfeiting on the public confidence in cash as a means of payment. The pecuniary interest of the person who receives a fake note or coin in good faith has always been considered marginal given the prevalence of the aforesaid super-individual interests. During the last years before the introduction of the Euro, the alert for the possible counterfeiting activities had been progressively increasing; it was clear that the possibilities of success of a counterfeiting operation are higher, due to the low familiarity of the public with the new appearance of banknotes and coins.