Danish krone

Danish krone
dansk krone (Danish)
donsk króna (Faroese)
Danskinut koruuni (Kalaallisut)
1000 kroner banknote 1 krone coin
ISO 4217 code DKK
User(s)  Denmark
 Greenland
 Faroe Islands [a]
Inflation 2.3% (Denmark only)
Source The World Factbook, 2010 est.
ERM
Since 13 March 1979
€ = kr 7.46038
Band 2.25%
Pegged with Euro
Pegged by Faroese króna at par
Subunit
1/100 øre
Symbol kr, ,-
Plural kroner
øre øre (singular and plural)
Coins 50 øre, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 kroner
Banknotes 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 kroner
Central bank Danmarks Nationalbank
Website www.nationalbanken.dk
^a Special banknotes are issued for use on the Faroe Islands – see Faroese króna

The krone (sign: kr; code: DKK; plural: kroner) has been the official currency of the Kingdom of Denmark, including the two autonomous provinces of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, since 1 January 1875. Both the ISO code "DKK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes the value, the latter usually follows it. The currency is sometimes referred to as the "Danish crown" in English (since krone literally means crown in Danish). One krone is subdivided into 100 øre.

The krone is pegged to the euro via the ERM II, the European Union's exchange rate mechanism.

Contents

History

The first actual organised coinage was created by Knud den Store (Canute the Great) in the 1020s. Lund 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. Coins were used not only as a means of payment, but also as the state's probably only form of mass communication by which the king could assert his sovereignty.

The coinage was based on silver, but to give the kings – and thus the state – an easy source of income, the metal value was gradually reduced, and thus did not correspond to face value. In addition, taxes were sometimes imposed via the coinage, e.g. in connection with compulsory substitutions where the value of the new coins received did not match that of the old coins handed in.

Until the late 18th century, the krone was a denomination equal to 8 mark, a subunit of the Danish rigsdaler.[1] A new 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 at a rate of 2480 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 introduction of the new krone was a result of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which came into effect in 1873 (with the coins being adopted two year later) and lasted until World War I. The parties to the union were the three Scandinavian kingdoms, where the name was krone in Denmark and Norway and krona in Sweden, a word which in English literally means crown. The three currencies were on the gold standard, with the krone/krona defined as 1⁄2480 of a kilogram of pure gold.

The Scandinavian Monetary Union came to end in 1914 when the gold standard was abandoned. Denmark, Sweden and Norway all decided to keep the names of their respective and now separate currencies.

Denmark returned to the gold standard in 1924 but left it permanently in 1931. Between 1940 and 1945, the krone was tied to the German Reichsmark. Following the end of the German occupation, a rate of 24 kroner to the British pound was introduced, reduced to 19.34 (4.8 kroner = 1 US dollar) in August the same year. Within the Bretton Woods System, Denmark devalued its currency with the pound in 1949 to a rate of 6.91 to the dollar. A further devaluation in 1967 resulted in rates of 7.5 kroner = 1 dollar and 18 kroner = 1 pound.

Current status

Relationship to the euro

Main article: Denmark and the euro

Denmark has not introduced the euro, following a rejection by referendum in 2000, however the Danish krone is pegged closely to the euro in ERM II, the EU's exchange rate mechanism. Following the financial crisis of 2008 support began to fall, and in late 2011, support for the euro crashed in light of the escalating European sovereign debt crisis[2]. Denmark borders one eurozone member, Germany, and one EU member, Sweden, obliged to join the euro in the future.

Faroe Islands and Greenland

Main articles: Faroese króna and Greenlandic krone

The Faroe Islands uses a localized, non-independent version of the Danish krone, known as the Faroese króna 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 1950's and later modernized in the 1970's and the 2000's.

Greenland 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 ceased the project to develop a Greenlandic series. Still, Greenland continues to use Danish kroner as sole official currency. Historically, Greenland under the colonial administration issued distinct banknotes between 1803 and 1968, together with coins between 1926 and 1964 (see Greenland rigsdaler and Greenland krone).

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. The 50-øre coins are thus minted from copper-coloured bronze, the 1-, 2- and 5-krone coins from a silver-coloured cupro-nickel 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.

Currently circulated coins
Image Value Technical parameters Description
Diameter Thickness Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse
50 øre 21.5 mm 1.55 mm 4.3 g Tin-bronze Smooth Crown of King Christian V  Heart
(symbol of the Royal Mint)
1 kr. 20.25 mm 1.6 mm 3.6 g Cupronickel
75% Cu, 25% Ni		 Milled Monogram of
Queen Margrethe II 		 Traditional design (holed)
2 kr. 24.5 mm 1.8 mm 5.9 g Interrupted milling
5 kr. 28.5 mm 2 mm 9.2 g Milled
10 kr. 23.35 mm 2.3 mm 7 g Aluminium bronze
92% Cu, 6% Al, 2% Ni		 Smooth Queen Margrethe II The national coat of arms
20 kr. 27 mm 2.35 mm 9.3 g Interrupted milling
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Commemoratives & thematic coins

Main article: Commemorative coins of Denmark

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 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 cointries.

In 2005, Danmarks Nationalbank issued the first in a series of five 10-krone commemorative coins with motifs from Hans Christian Andersen'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[3]. In 2007, as the fairy tale series ended, a second series of three 10-krone commemorative coins was introduced, celebrating the International Polar Year. Featuring motifs of a polar bear, the Sirius Sledge Patrol and the Aurora Borealis, 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.[4]

Banknotes

Further information: Banknotes of Denmark, 1972 series, Banknotes of Denmark, 1997 series, and Banknotes of Denmark, 2009 series

Bridge series

The process of designing the 'Bridge' banknotes was initiated in 2006 by the Danish National Bank.[5] The theme of the new banknotes is Danish bridges and the surrounding landscapes, or details from these landscapes. The 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 with a moving wave pattern. Another feature is a new, sophisticated hologram that reflects light in different colours. The new banknotes will also have the traditional security features such as the watermark and the hidden security thread.

Banknotes of Denmark, 2009 series
Image Value Dimensions Main colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse Watermark first printing issue
50 kroner 125 × 72 mm Purple Sallingsund Bridge Skarpsalling vessel Denomination and Skuldelev Viking Ship in Roskilde Fjord 2009 11 August 2009
100 kroner 135 × 72 mm Orange Little Belt Bridge Hindsgavl dagger 2010 4 May 2010
200 kroner 145 × 72 mm Green Knippelsbro Langstrup belt plate 2010 19 October 2010
500 kroner 155 × 72 mm Blue Queen Alexandrine Bridge Keldby bronze pail 2011 15 February 2011
1000 kroner 165 × 72 mm Red Great Belt Bridge Trundholm Sun Chariot 2011 24 May 2011
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Trivia

Within context, some of the banknotes have figurative meanings with the 100-krone note sometimes referred to as a hund (dog) shortening the word hundrede (a hundred). The 500-krone note can be referred to as a plovmand (ploughman) because of previously circulations of the note featured a picture of a man with a plough and the 1000-krone note, too, can be referred to as a tudse (toad) taken from a wordplay on the word tusinde meaning a thousand.

Exchange rates

Current DKK exchange rates
From Google Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD SEK NOK
From Yahoo! Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD SEK NOK
From OzForex: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD SEK NOK
From XE.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD SEK NOK
From OANDA.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD SEK NOK

See also

References

  1. ^ "Global Financial Data". Global Financial Data. http://www.globalfinancialdata.com/index.php3?action=showghoc&country_name=DENMARK. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
  2. ^ "Danskerne siger nej tak til euroen" (in Danish). Business.dk. 27 September 2011. http://www.business.dk/oekonomi/danskerne-siger-nej-tak-til-euroen. Retrieved 29 September 2011. 
  3. ^ http://kgl-mønt.dk/DKM/UK/Themes.nsf/side/Fairy_tale_coins_!OpenDocument
  4. ^ http://www.kgl-mønt.dk/dkm/UK/Themes.nsf/side/Polar_coins!OpenDocument
  5. ^ www.banknotenews.com
  • Krause, Chester L., and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed. ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501. 
  • Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9. 
  • Pick, Albert (1990). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Specialized Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (6th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-149-8. 
  • Schön, Günter und Gerhard, Weltmünzkatalog 1900--2010, 39. Auflage, 2011, Battenberg Gietl Verlag, ISBN 978-3-86646-057-7

External links

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{{Navbox |name = DK currency and coinage |state = expanded |title = Danish currency

|group1 = Coins |list1 = .50 · 1 · 2 · 5 · 10 · 20

|group2 = Banknotes |list2 = 50 · 100 · 200 · 500 · 1000

|group3 = Faroese banknotes |list3 = 50 · 100 · 200 · 500 · 1000

|group4 = Withdrawn currency |list4 = 0.01 · 0.02 · 0.05 · 0.10 · .25 (withdrawn in 2008) · 0.½

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