he krone (Danish pronunciation: [kon]; plural: kroner; sign: kr.

; code: DKK) is the official

currency of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, introduced on 1 January 1875.[3] 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 in
English, since krone literally means crown. Historically, krone coins have been minted in
Denmark since the 17th century.

One krone is subdivided into 100 re (Danish pronunciation: []; singular and plural), the name
re possibly deriving from Latin aureus meaning "gold coin".[4] Altogether there are eleven
denominations of the krone, with the smallest being the 50 re coin, which is valued at one half
of a krone. Formerly there were more re coins, but those were discontinued due to inflation.

The krone is pegged to the euro via the ERM II, the European Union's exchange rate mechanism.
Adoption of the euro is favoured by the major political parties, however a 2000 referendum on
joining the Eurozone was defeated with 53.2% voting to maintain the krone and 46.8% voting to
join the Eurozone.[5]

Contents
1 History

2 Current status

o 2.1 Relationship to the euro

o 2.2 Faroe Islands and Greenland

3 Coins

o 3.1 Alloys and colour scheme

o 3.2 Commemoratives and thematic coins

4 Banknotes

o 4.1 Bridge series

5 Nicknames

6 Exchange rates

7 See also
 8 Footnotes

9 External links

History

A Danish silver two rigsdaler piece of 1868, with the portrait of Christian IX.

Two golden 20 kr coins from the Scandinavian Monetary Union, with identical weight and
composition. The coin to the left is Swedish and the right one is Danish.

The oldest known Danish coin is a penny (penning) struck AD 825840,[6] but the earliest
systematic minting produced the so-called korsmnter or "cross coins" minted by Harald
Bluetooth in the late 10th century.[7] Organised minting in Denmark was introduced on a larger
scale by 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, rhus, Viborg, Ribe, rbk and Hedeby. For almost 1,000 years,
Danish kings with a few exceptions have issued coins with their name, monogram and/or
portrait.[3] Taxes were sometimes imposed via the coinage, e.g. by the compulsory substitution of
coins handed in by new coins handed out with a lower silver content.[3]

Danish coinage was generally based on the Carolingian silver standard. Periodically, the metal
value of the minted coins was reduced, and thus did not correspond to the face value of the coins.
This was mainly done to generate income for the monarch and/or the state. As a result of the
debasement, 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 in issued paper
money.[3]

In 1619 a new currency was introduced in Denmark, the krone (crown). One krone had the value
of 1 1/2 Danish Rigsdaler Species accounting for 96 Kroneskillinger, later for 144 common
Skillings.[8]
Until the late 18th century, the krone was a denomination equal to 8 mark, a subunit of the
Danish rigsdaler.[9] 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.[3]

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 years later) and lasted until World
War I. The parties to the union were the three Scandinavian countries, where the name was krone
in Denmark and Norway and krona in Sweden, a word which in all three languages 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 an 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.

In 2014, it was decided to stop printing of the Krone in Denmark, but would be outsourced, and
on 20 December 2016, the last notes were printed by the National Bank.[10]

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, but the
Danish krone is pegged closely to the euro in ERM II, the EU's exchange rate mechanism.
Denmark borders one eurozone member, Germany, and one EU member, Sweden, which is
legally obliged to join the euro in the future (though Sweden maintains that joining ERM II is
voluntary, thus avoiding euro adoption for the time being).

Faroe Islands and Greenland

Main articles: Faroese krna and Greenlandic krone

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

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

A tin-bronze 50-re coin

A cupronickel 1-krone coin

An aluminium bronze 10-kroner coin (2011- series)

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-re 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-re 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

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

Commemoratives and 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 countries.

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.[11] 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.[12]
Banknotes
Further information: Banknotes of Denmark, 1972 series; Banknotes of Denmark, 1997 series;
and Banknotes of Denmark, 2009 series

Most Danish banknotes (with a few exceptions) issued after 1945 are valid as payment.
Banknotes has since 1945 been issued with the values: 5 kroner, 10 kroner, 20 kroner, 50 kroner,
100 kroner, 200 kroner, 500 kroner & 1000 kroner.

Bridge series

The process of designing the 'Bridge' banknotes was initiated in 2006 by the Danish National
Bank.[13] 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.

Banknotes of Denmark, 2009 series

Image Description Date of
Valu Dimensi Main first
Waterma
Obverse Reverse e ons color Obverse Reverse printi issue
rk
ng
50 Sallingsu Skarpsall 11
125
kron Purple nd ing 2009 Augus
72 mm
er Bridge vessel t 2009
100 Little
135 Orange/G Hindsga 4 May
kron Belt 2010
72 mm old vl dagger 2010
er Bridge Denomina
tion and 19
200 Langstru Skuldelev
145 Knippels Octob
kron Green p belt Viking 2010
72 mm bro er
er plate Ship in 2010
Queen Roskilde 15
500 Keldby Fjord
155 Alexandr Februa
kron Blue bronze 2011
72 mm ine ry
er pail
Bridge 2011
1000 Great Trundhol 24
165
kron Red Belt m Sun 2011 May
72 mm
er Bridge Chariot 2011
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimeter. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.
Nicknames
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 previous 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. The 1000-krone
note may also be referred to as an egern (squirrel) because of previous circulations of the note
featuring a squirrel.