The rigsdaler specie was a unit of silver currency used in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

, renamed as the speciedaler in 1816 and used until 1873. Norway used a common

reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the ...

currency system shared with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

and

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

until 1873 when the

gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard 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 early 1920s, and from th ...

was implemented in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

and the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

Rigsdaler specie

The reichsthaler currency system used in Northern Europe until 1873 consisted of the silver

Reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the ...

specie (''Rigsdaler specie'') worth 120 ''skillings'' in Norway and Denmark, and the lower-valued ''Rigsdaler courant'' worth th of specie or 96 ''skillings'' (both units worth 60 and 48 ''schellingen'', respectively, in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein). The Hamburg Bank equated 9 reichsthalers specie to a Cologne Mark of fine silver, hence 25.28 g silver in a ''rigsdaler specie''.

Coins

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, coins were issued in denominations of 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24 skilling, , , , , and 1 rigsdaler specie.

Banknotes

In 1695, government notes were issued for 10, 20, 25, 50 and 100 rigsdaler (spelt rixdaler). In 1807, notes were reintroduced by the government, in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 100 rigsdaler courant, with 12 skilling notes added in 1810. In 1813, Rigsbankens Norske Avdeling began issuing notes. in denominations of 1, 5, 50, and 100 Rigsbankdaler. Subsequent series were issued by Norges Midlertidige Rigsbank (1814), Stattholderbevis (1815), and Norges Bank (1817–22 to the present).

Norwegian Speciedaler

After the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

Denmark dropped out of the system described above in favor of a lower-valued

Danish rigsdaler The rigsdaler was the name of several currencies used in Denmark until 1875. The similarly named Reichsthaler, riksdaler and rijksdaalder were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively. These currencies were ofte ...

. However Norway retained the system even after its union with Sweden, renaming the specie coin as the ''Speciedaler'' but still divided into 120 ''skillings''. It was replaced by the

Norwegian krone The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ...

when Norway joined the

Scandinavian Monetary Union __NOTOC__ The Scandinavian Monetary Union was a monetary union formed by Denmark and Sweden on 5 May 1873, with Norway joining in 1875. It established a common currency unit, the krone/krona, based on the gold standard. It was one of the few tan ...

. An equal valued krone/krona of the monetary union replaced the three currencies at the rate of 1 krone/krona =

= Norwegian speciedaler = 1

Swedish riksdaler The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thaler ...

Coins

In 1816, coins in circulation from the previous currency remained in circulation, with only 1 skilling coins being minted. A new coinage was introduced in 1819, consisting of copper 1 and 2 skilling and silver 8 and 24 skilling, and 1 specidaler. Silver 2 and 4 skilling coins were introduced in 1825, followed by copper skilling pieces in 1839, silver 12 skilling in 1845 and silver 3 skilling in 1868. It was made out of Iron.

Banknotes

Norges Bank began issuing notes in 1817, with denominations of 24 skilling, , 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 speciedaler.

Notes

References

* * * Economic history of Denmark Modern obsolete currencies Silver coins Early Modern currencies Currencies of Norway Coins of Denmark Currencies of the Kingdom of Denmark 1873 disestablishments Economic history of Norway {{money-unit-stub