Danish Kroner
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The krone (; plural: ''kroner'';
sign A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...
: kr.;
code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...
: DKK) is the official
currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...
of
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
,
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
, and the
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...
, introduced on 1 January 1875. Both the ISO code "DKK" and currency sign "kr." are in common use; the former precedes the value, the latter in some contexts follows it. The currency is sometimes referred to as the Danish
crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
, since ''krone'' literally means
crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
. Krone coins have been minted in Denmark since the 17th century. One krone is subdivided into 100 ''øre'' (; singular and plural), the name ''øre'' is probably derived from the Latin word for gold. Altogether there are ten denominations of the krone, with the smallest being the 50 øre coin (one half of a krone). Formerly there were more øre coins, but those were discontinued due to inflation. The krone is pegged to the
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
via the
ERM II The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) is a system introduced by the European Economic Community on 1 January 1999 alongside the introduction of a single currency, the euro (replacing ERM 1 and the euro's predecessor, the ECU) as ...
, the European Union's exchange rate mechanism. Adoption of the euro is favoured by some of the major political parties; however, a 2000 referendum on joining the
Eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
was defeated with 53.2% voting to maintain the krone and 46.8% voting to join the Eurozone.


History

The oldest known Danish coin is a
penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...
() struck AD 825–840, but the earliest systematic minting produced the so-called () minted by
Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (; , died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. The son of King Gorm the Old and Thyra Dannebod, Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986, introduced Christianization of Denmark, Christianity to D ...
 in the late 10th century. Organised minting in Denmark was introduced on a larger scale by
Canute the Great Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...
in the 1020s.
Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and
) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...
(now in Sweden) was the principal minting place and one of Denmark's most important cities in the Middle Ages, but coins were also minted in Roskilde, Slagelse, Odense, Aalborg, Århus, Viborg, Ribe, Ørbæk and Hedeby. For almost 1,000 years, Danish kings – with a few exceptions – have issued coins with their name, monogram and/or portrait. Danish coinage was generally based on the Carolingian silver standard, with 12 ''penning'' to a '' skilling'' and 20 ''skilling'' to a pound; later on, 16 ''skilling'' to a
mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...
. The metal content of minted coins was subject to debasement over the centuries, an easy way to generate income for the monarch and/or the state. Taxes were sometimes imposed via the coinage, such as by the compulsory substitution of coins handed in by new coins handed out with a lower silver content. As a result of the
debasement A debasement of coinage is the practice of lowering the intrinsic value of coins, especially when used in connection with commodity money, such as gold or silver coins, while continuing to circulate it at face value. A coin is said to be debased ...
, the public started to lose trust in the respective coins. Danish currency was overhauled several times in attempts to restore public trust in the coins, and later issued in paper money. Several different currency systems have been used by Denmark from the 16th to 19th centuries. The ''krone'' (lit. "crown") has existed as early as 1513 as a unit of account worth 8 marks. In more general use until 1813, however, was a ''krone'' or ''schlecht daler'' worth rigsdaler, 4
marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...
, or 64 skilling. The modern-day krone was introduced as the currency of Denmark in January 1875. It replaced the rigsdaler at a rate of 2 kroner = 1 rigsdaler. This placed the krone on the
gold standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...
at a rate of 2,480 kroner = 1 kilogram fine gold. The latter part of the 18th century and much of the 19th century saw expanding economic activity and thus also a need for means of payment that were easier to handle than coins. Consequently, banknotes were increasingly used instead of coins. The Danish krone was minted by the
Royal Mint of Denmark The Royal Mint of Denmark () is a mint (coin), mint established by the Denmark, Danish monarchy in the early 16th century, which currently by law is the only company allowed to mint the Danish currency (Danish krone, DKK). It is owned by the Danish ...
and banknotes were printed by the Danish National Bank until 1975, when the mint was made a subsidiary of the National Bank. In 2014, it was decided to stop minting and printing of the krone in Denmark, but the work would be outsourced, and on 20 December 2016, the last notes were printed by the National Bank.


Status


Relationship to the euro

Denmark has not introduced the
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
, following a rejection by referendum in 2000, but the Danish krone is pegged closely to the euro (with the rate 7.46038±2.25%) in
ERM II The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) is a system introduced by the European Economic Community on 1 January 1999 alongside the introduction of a single currency, the euro (replacing ERM 1 and the euro's predecessor, the ECU) as ...
, the EU's exchange rate mechanism. Denmark borders one eurozone member,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and one other EU member,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, which is committed by treaty to join the euro in the future when conditions permit (though Sweden maintains that joining ERM II is voluntary, thus avoiding euro adoption for the time being).


Faroe Islands and Greenland

The Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a population of 54,609 ...
uses a localised, non-independent version of the Danish krone, known as the ''
Faroese króna The króna (plural: ''krónur''; sign: kr) is the currency of the Faroe Islands. It is issued by Danmarks Nationalbank, the central bank of Denmark. It is not a separate currency, but is rather a local issue of banknotes denominated in the Danish ...
'' pegged with the Danish krone at par, using the Danish coin series, but have their own series of distinct banknotes, first being issued in the 1950s and later modernised in the 1970s and the 2000s.
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
adopted the Act on Banknotes in Greenland in 2006 with a view to introducing separate Greenlandic banknotes. The Act entered into force on 1 June 2007. In the autumn of 2010, a new Greenlandic government indicated that it did not wish to introduce separate Greenlandic banknotes and
Danmarks Nationalbank Danmarks Nationalbank (in Danish often simply ''Nationalbanken'') is the central bank of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is a non-eurozone member of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). Since its establishment in 1818, the objecti ...
ceased the project to develop a Greenlandic series. Still, Greenland continues to use Danish kroner as sole official currency. Historically,
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
under the colonial administration issued distinct banknotes between 1803 and 1968, together with coins between 1926 and 1964 (see Greenland rigsdaler and Greenland krone). Faroe Islands and Greenland have their own
IBAN IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to: Banking * International Bank Account Number Ethnology * Iban culture * Iban language The Iban language () is spoken by the Iban, one of the Dayak ethnic groups who live in Brunei, the Indonesian provinc ...
codes (FO and GL, while Denmark has DK). Transfers between the countries count as international with international fees, outside EU rules.


Coins


Alloys and colour scheme

The design of the coin series is intended to ensure that the coins are easy to distinguish from each other: The series is therefore divided into three sequences, each with its own metal colour. This division into colours has its roots in history. In earlier times, the value of the coins was equivalent to the value of the metal from which they were minted: gold was used for the coins of the highest denominations, silver for the next-highest, and copper for the lowest coin denominations. This correlation between colour and value has been retained in the present coin series (see examples to the right). The 50 øre coins are thus minted from copper-coloured bronze, the 1, 2 and 5 krone coins from a silver-coloured cupronickel alloy, and the 10 and 20 krone coins from golden aluminium bronze. The coins differ in terms of size, weight and rim. Within each sequence the diameter and weight of the coins increase with their value. The 50 øre and 10 krone coins have smooth rims, while the rims of the 1 and 5 krone coins are milled. The rims of the 2 and 20 krone coins have interrupted milling. The 1, 2 and 5 krone coins have a hole in the middle. Use of these various characteristics makes it easy for the blind and sight-impaired to tell the coins apart.


Commemoratives and thematic coins

The coins of the programme have the same size and metal composition as the regular coins of their denomination. The first series, 20-krone coins featuring towers in Denmark, ran between 2002 and 2007 and spawned ten different motifs. Upon selecting the towers, importance had been attached not only to display aesthetic towers, but also towers with different form, functions and from different regions of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The last coin depicting the
Copenhagen City Hall Copenhagen City Hall () is the headquarters of the Copenhagen City Council as well as the Lord mayor of the Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. The building is situated on City Hall Square in central Copenhagen. Architecture The current building ...
was issued in June 2007, marking the end of the series. A second series of 20-krone coins, starting in 2007 with twelve different planned motifs and ten already released by November 2011, shows Denmark as a maritime nation in the world, featuring iconic Danish, Faroese and Greenlandic ships and like the previous series of tower coins, the series reflect various landmarks in shipbuilding in the three countries. In 2005, Danmarks Nationalbank issued the first in a series of five 10-krone commemorative coins with motifs from
Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...
's fairy tales. The motifs depicted on the coins were chosen to illustrate various aspects and themes central to the fairy tales with the fifth and final fairy tale coin inspired by The Nightingale being issued on 25 October 2007. In 2007, as the fairy tale series ended, a second series of three 10-krone commemorative coins was introduced, celebrating the
International Polar Year The International Polar Years (IPY) are collaborative, international efforts with intensive research focus on the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor in 1875, but died before it first occurred ...
. Featuring motifs of a polar bear, the Sirius Sledge Patrol and the
Aurora Borealis An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
, the coins aimed to accentuate scientific research in the backdrop of Greenlandic culture and geography. The third and final coin entitled 'Northern Lights' marked the completion of the series in 2009.


Banknotes

Most Danish banknotes (with a few exceptions) issued after 1945 are valid as payment. Banknotes have since 1945 been issued with the values: 5 kroner, 10 kroner, 20 kroner, 50 kroner, 100 kroner, 200 kroner, 500 kroner, and 1000 kroner. On 30 November 2023, it was announced that all banknotes issued before 2009 will no longer be legal tender as of 31 May 2025. The 1000-kroner banknote will also be phased out on the same date. Phased out banknotes will continue to be accepted by Danmarks Nationalbank until 31 May 2026.


1944 series

The 1944 series, known as the substitution series, was developed in secret in 1943−1944 and designed by Danish painter
Gerhard Heilmann Gerhard Heilmann (later sometimes spelt "Heilman") (25 June 1859 – 26 March 1946) was a Danish artist and paleontologist who created artistic depictions of ''Archaeopteryx'', '' Proavis'' and other early bird relatives apart from writing the 1 ...
.


1952 series

The 1952 series featured portraits and landscapes, and was issued from 1952 to 1964. It was replaced in 1972. Featuring famous Danes on the obverse and Danish landscapes on the reverse, the banknotes were designed by , Gunnar Andersen, and .


1972 series

The 1972 series featured portraits and animals, and was issued from 1975 to 1980. It was replaced in 1997. Every note had a portrait based on a painting by Jens Juel on the obverse side. The reverse featured animals designed by Ib Andersen and Gunnar Andersen.


1997 series

The 1997 series features portraits and church art, and was issued from 1997 to 1999. It was replaced in 2009. Illustrated by Johan Alkjær, the banknotes featured portraits of Danish artists and scientists on the obverse while the reverse had motifs of cultural and religious art.


2009 series

The process of designing the 'Bridge' banknotes was initiated in 2006 by Danmarks Nationalbank. The theme of the new banknotes is Danish bridges and the surrounding landscapes, or details from these landscapes. Danish artist Karin Birgitte Lund has chosen to interpret this theme in two ways: bridges as links between various parts of Denmark and as links between the past and the present. The present is represented by the bridges, the past by five distinctive prehistoric objects found near the bridges. Among the new security features is a window thread ("Motion") with a moving wave pattern. Another feature is a new, sophisticated hologram that reflects light in different colors. The new banknotes also have the traditional security features such as the watermark and the hidden security thread. Starting in 2020, Danmarks Nationalbank released a new version of the 500-kroner banknote with updated security features, the first in the 2009A series. Updated versions of the 50-, 100-, and 200-kroner banknotes are scheduled to enter circulation in 2024–2025.


2028 series

The next series of banknotes is scheduled for release in 2028 and will not contain a 1000-krone banknote, which will no longer be legal tender as of 31 May 2025, with that banknote being withdrawn in order to combat and prevent money laundering. Banknotes from the new series and the 2009 series will co-circulate for a period of time and eventually only the new series of banknotes will be legal tender. The design process started in the spring of 2024, and they are scheduled to be finalised in early 2026. In September 2024, it was announced that the obverse of the banknotes would feature "important achievements and the people behind them" whereas the reverse will feature the sea as a motif. The selected achievements and people are as follows: * Fairy tales and
Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...
* Astronomy and
Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, ; 14 December 154624 October 1601), generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer of the Renaissance, known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations. He ...
* The Earth's core and
Inge Lehmann Inge Lehmann (13 May 1888 – 21 February 1993) was a Danish seismologist and geophysicist who is known for her discovery in 1936 of the solid inner core that exists within the molten outer core of the Earth. The seismic discontinuity in the sp ...
* The Thule Expedition and Arnarulunnguaq


Exchange rates


See also

*
Denmark and the euro Denmark uses the krone as its currency and does not use the euro, having negotiated the right to opt out from participation under the Maastricht Treaty of 1992. In 2000, the government held a referendum on introducing the euro, which was defe ...
*
Economy of Denmark Denmark has a modern World Bank high-income economy, high-income and Developed country, highly developed mixed economy, dominated by the service sector with 80% of all jobs; about 11% of employees work in manufacturing and 2% in agriculture. The ...
*
Economy of the Faroe Islands The economy of the Faroe Islands was the 166th largest in the world in 2014, having a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.613 billion per annum. GDP increased from DKK 8 billion in 1999, to 21 billion in 2019. The vast majority of Faroese ...
*
Economy of Greenland The economy of Greenland is characterized as small, mixed and vulnerable. Greenland's economy consists of a large public sector and comprehensive foreign trade. This has resulted in an economy with periods of strong growth, considerable inflation ...


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * Schön, Günter und Gerhard, Weltmünzkatalog 1900–2010, 39. Auflage, 2011, Battenberg Gietl Verlag, .


External links


Royal Mint of Denmark
see ''Denmark's coin series''.


Danish coins
at nationalbanken.dk {{DEFAULTSORT:Danish Krone Krone, Danish Fixed exchange rate Currencies introduced in 1875 Currencies of North America 1875 establishments in Denmark Circulating currencies Currencies of Europe Crown (currency)