Norwegian krone: currency as a national treasure.  Overview of the currency of norway kroon - the sea that takes us to the world

Norwegian krone: currency as a national treasure. Overview of the currency of norway kroon - the sea that takes us to the world

The monetary unit of Norway is the Norwegian krone, divided into 100 øre. AT cash circulation there are banknotes in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 Norwegian kroner. International designation - NOK. The Norwegian krone was introduced by law of April 17, 1875 in connection with Norway's entry into the Scandinavian Monetary Union. Before monetary unit The country had a spesidaler, which circulated in the form of a silver coin. Until 1917, in addition to national money, banknotes and coins of Sweden and Denmark were in circulation.

From March 18, 1973 to December 11, 1978, Norway participated in the system of narrowed limits for deviations of mutual exchange rates countries - members of the Common Market (although it was not part of the EEC). December 12, 1978 in connection with the forthcoming creation of the European monetary system Norway left the system of limited fluctuations of exchange rates and from January 1979 switched to setting the krone on the basis of a basket of currencies.

The front side of the 50 NOK contains a portrait of the poet and journalist Osmunn Vigne, the reverse side is decorated with a bas-relief depicting a warrior fighting with a mythical creature. The predominant color is green. On the front side of the 100 Norwegian kroner note there is a portrait of the 19th century Norwegian writer Camille Collet, the back contains an image of a rosette. The dominant color is burgundy.

The front side of the 500 Norwegian kroner banknote depicts a portrait of the famous composer Edvard Grieg, the reverse is decorated with an ornament of flowers. The predominant colors are blue and blue. The front side of the 1000 Norwegian kroner contains a portrait of the poet S.M. Falsen, on the reverse side of the banknote there is a bas-relief depicting a lion. The main color is purple.

You can freely bring foreign currency into Norway for an amount not exceeding NOK 25,000. If the amount exceeds the specified limit, then you must fill out a special customs declaration. There are no restrictions when using traveler's checks.

Norwegian krone. 50 NOK banknote, obverse (front side)

Norwegian krone. 50 NOK banknote, reverse (back side)

Norwegian krone. 100 NOK banknote, obverse (front side)

Norwegian krone. 100 NOK banknote, reverse (back side)

Norwegian krone. 200 NOK banknote, obverse (front side)

Norwegian krone. 200 NOK banknote, reverse (back side)

Norwegian krone. 500 NOK banknote, obverse (front side).

Norwegian krone. 500 NOK banknote, reverse (back side).

Norwegian krone. 1000 NOK banknote, obverse (front side).

Norwegian krone. 1000 NOK banknote, reverse (back side).

Metal crowns and öre - modern coins of Norway

AT money circulation there are coins in denominations of 50 öre and 1, 5, 10, 20 crowns.

Norway's last gold coins were issued in 1910. During the German occupation in World War II, the 10, 25 and 50 öre coins used zinc instead of copper-nickel alloy, and the production of the 1 kroon coin was suspended.

In 1963, a 5 kroon coin was introduced, and in 1972 the production of 1 and 2 öre coins was discontinued. In 1973, the size of the 5 öre was reduced, with their production being discontinued in 1982, along with the 25 öre coins. The 10 crown coin was issued in 1983. Between 1994 and 1998, new coins were introduced, consisting of 50 öre, 1, 5, 10 and 20 crowns.

The 10 and 20 crown coins depict a portrait of the monarch of Norway. Previously, the portrait of the monarch was also present on the coins of 1 and 5 crowns, but now these denominations are decorated only with the use of stylistic royal national symbols. The royal motto of the monarch (King Harald's motto is "Alt for Norge" - All for Norway) is also minted on the 10 kroner coin.

The crown is being served today. I’ll clarify - Norwegian, because there are a lot of different crowns.

Crown (Nor.) krone, norsk krone, pl. h. kroner) - National currency Norway. Consists of 100 era. Prior to the introduction of the kroon in 1875, Norway's currency was the spesidaler, a silver coin.

The international designation is NOK.

In cash circulation there are coins in denominations of 20 10, 5 and 1 kroons.

Banknotes in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 NOK.

So, what is depicted on these pieces of paper?

50 NOK. The obverse contains a portrait of the Norwegian writer and collector of folk tales, the author of "Norwegian fairy tales and folk tales" Peter Kristen Asbörnsen (1812 - 1885). The reverse features water lilies. The predominant color is green.

100 NOK. The obverse contains a portrait of the operatic soprano Kirsten Flagstad (1895 - 1962), who became famous for performing musical parts in Wagner's operas. The reverse is a schematic representation of the concert hall at the Opera House in Oslo. The dominant color is burgundy.

200 NOK. The front side of the banknote depicts a portrait of the Norwegian scientist Christian Olaf Bernhard (1867 - 1917), 7 who was nominated for the Nobel Prize for his research on the nature of the northern lights. The reverse depicts the Norwegian Arctic. The predominant colors are blue and cyan.

500 NOK. The obverse contains a portrait of the Norwegian writer Sigrid Unsed (1882 - 1949), who received the Nobel Prize for novels about the history of the Norwegian Middle Ages. On the reverse is a wreath of flowers from her trilogy Christine, daughter of Lavrans.

1000 NOK. The obverse contains a portrait of the Norwegian painter and artist Edvard Munch (1863-1944), the creator of the famous "Scream" - the most expensive work in the history of art, which went under the hammer in 2012 for $ 120 million. On the reverse side there is a fragment from Munch's wall painting - "The Sun". The main color is purple.

When the question is asked about what currency is in Norway today, the location of this country is immediately remembered. If Norway is in Europe, then the currency must be the euro. But it's not. Norway has abandoned the single monetary currency of the Old World and continues to maintain its national currency called the Norwegian krone.

What money to take to Norway?

The banking system in this Scandinavian country is very well developed. Even in the smallest town you will be accepted with amazing simplicity currency card. There are also no tangible problems with currency exchange. You can do this at any ATM, but the commission charged is quite impressive 5% of the total amount of the exchange, or at least $ 5. If you listen to people who have already been to Norway, they say that for the first time it is better to take a certain amount of Norwegian kroner with you, and exchange the rest of the amount there.

About banks in Norway

Some banks in Norway are open only in the morning, but you will encounter this inconvenience if you decide to go to some area that is not very touristy. In tourist areas, Norwegian currency can be purchased and exchanged between 8 am and 11 pm on weekdays. If you intend to buy Norwegian kroner on a weekend, it is better to do it before 5 pm, because after this time all banks are closed. In order to find the most profitable course for yourself, and even with minimum commission, which does not happen below 2% of the exchange amount, you need to try very hard. The most favorable conditions for currency exchange at ATMs, which are located at airports or seaports of the country.

what dignity is there in Norway?

1 Norwegian krone is not the smallest monetary unit in the country, because there is also an era. 100 øre is one Norwegian krone. Today, there are several denominations of coins and banknotes in circulation in Norway. Among them are coins in denominations of 10 and 50 øre, as well as 1, 5, 10 and 20 NOK. As for banknotes, the banknote of 1000 crowns has the highest value. In addition to it, there are also banknotes of 50, 100 and 500 Norwegian kroner. Very popular with both locals and tourists plastic cards. They are very easy to use, if only because in almost every point of the country you can be served by card.

History of the Norwegian krone

If we talk about the first monetary currency that appeared in Norway, then we should turn to the seventh century, when the first coins were used in everyday life. But the national currency of Norway appeared much later, only ten centuries later. In 1626 a mint was established in Oslo, and the first cash countries. However, sixty years later, it was decided to move the mint to Kongsberg due to the fact that there was a gold mine. stood in Kongsberg until it dried up in 1957. The nineteenth century was marked by the transition to the gold exchange standard, when each issued currency of Norway was equal to the stock of gold that was in the country's treasury. The Norwegian krone itself, with all its inherent properties, was put into circulation in 1875. As for the Mint of Norway, in 2000 it was given the status of a limited liability company, and four years later the name "Royal Norwegian Mint" was renamed the "Norwegian Mint".

Currency in Norway. Rate against other currencies

If you look at the exchange rate against the Norwegian krone, you will notice that money currency country with is quite stable and does not have sharp jumps. If you track the dynamics of the Norwegian krone against the US dollar, you can see that in the period from 2005 to the present day, the Norwegian currency has been in the range from 14 to 20 cents. The smallest value is in 2009. Today, 10 Norwegian kroner can be purchased for 1.54 US dollars. The dynamics of the Norwegian krone against the euro is even more stable. For 9 recent years the smallest value for which it was possible to purchase 10 crowns was and the largest was 1.4. The Norwegian krone to the euro today is 0.121, that is, for 1.21 euros you can buy 10 NOK. If in relation to the euro and the dollar the exchange rate of the Norwegian krone rises, then falls, relative to Russian ruble the Norwegian currency has a stable uptrend. So, for example, in 2005 it was possible to buy 1 Norwegian krone for 4.5 rubles, and after 9 years you have to pay 6.2 rubles for 1 kroon. Thus, the exchange rate of the Norwegian krone against the ruble increased by almost 38%.

Who is depicted on Norwegian banknotes?

On the banknotes of the Norwegian currency, the great people of this nation are depicted. Yes, with banknote, the face value of which is 50 crowns, Peter Christen Asbjornsen, one of the greatest storytellers not only in Norway, but in the entire Old World, is looking at us. money banknote worth 100 crowns is crowned with the image of the greatest opera singer named Kirsten Flagstad. Norway is a northern country, and she could not help but thank the people who explored the expanses of the north. That is why the 200-kroon note features researcher Christian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland. The creator of the famous painting "The Scream", Edvard Munch, looks at us from a banknote of 1000 Norwegian kroner. Nobel Laureate The writer Sigret Unset is the symbol of the 500 Norwegian kroner note.

The Norwegian krone has undergone significant visual changes. At the end of May 2017 central bank Norway put into circulation new banknotes. This time, the Central Bank decided to abandon traditional portraits in favor of a more up-to-date design that meets the spirit of the country.

In this article, you will learn why the new banknotes are unique, why the design was developed by two studios at once, and what task the Central Bank gave for the competition.


1000 kr final: The Metric System front, back - Snøhetta Design

To do new design In the spring of 2014, the Norwegian Central Bank announced a competition in which about 70 studios and designers participated. During the competition, for each banknote, the bank set a specific image theme related to the sea. As a result, two projects by The Metric System and Snøhetta Design studios won at once, whose ideas were combined in the final version. So far, these are denominations of only 50 and 200 kroons, later it is planned to issue the rest. The last, with a denomination of 1000, - in 2019.

The country's banknotes are often the visitor's first point of contact with the place of visit. And the impression they make can set the vector for further relations between a person and a country. In other words, money is a business card that can tell a lot about a nation.

The new Norwegian money plays this role very well. Below we will first consider the competitive projects of the two winning studios, and then the result of their joint work with the Central Bank.

Project of The Metric System studio

The Metric System is a graphic design studio based in Oslo. They worked with Norwegian illustrator Terje Tonnesen, who drew the images for the banknotes. Each banknote produced by the studio in its own way tells about the Norwegian way of life: its originality, cultural heritage and the society itself. Their idea is to inspire Norwegians and remind them of positive feelings and exciting memories associated with the coast.

Different parts of the coast were depicted on the back of the banknotes to represent the whole country in a series of drawings. However, in the end they were not used in the final version.

Project by Snøhetta Design

For the face of the banknotes, architecture and design studio Snøhetta provided a series of black and white photographs that depict various manifestations of the country's coastline.

For the reverse side, the designers proposed to make cubic drawings that make up the pattern. The design is partly based on the ideas and work of the German physicist Peter Richter. In particular, there is a similarity with the book The Beauty of Fractals, which presents complex mathematical computer images. But this is not just a blurry picture, but an image, a system that allows you to roughly determine the wind speed by its effect on objects (dust, tree branches) or waves in the open sea. Thus, the longer the lines in the drawings, the stronger the wind they symbolize.

final result

As a result of the competition, the jury decided to combine both ideas: for the front side, use drawings from The Metric System studio, and for the back side, avant-garde pixelated images, following the idea of ​​​​Snøhetta Design studio.

Since there are no images of ready-made banknotes in the public domain, below we combined layouts, which were eventually taken as the basis for the final design. So that you can consider all the nuances, we have given a link to each banknote on the website of the Central Bank of Norway.

50 crowns - the sea that unites us


Utver lighthouse in Sogn and Fjordan, the westernmost point in Norway

In 1770 Utwer was a pilot station. The position of pilot has been passed down from father to son for generations, in keeping with a long tradition along the coast. The lighthouse was built here in 1900. Not so long ago, the sea was the only way to travel in Norway: high mountains prevented Norwegians from crossing the country by land. Therefore, the sea has always been important part transport system of the country, and a network of lighthouses covers the entire Norwegian coast.

Against the background of the banknote, a detail of the old sea ​​chart and a seagull - a symbol that unites the sea, air and earth.

The same lighthouse is depicted on the reverse side, and the cubic pattern symbolizes calmness.

100 crowns - the sea that takes us to the world


Gokstad Viking ship from a 9th-century mound on the coast of the Norwegian Sandefjord

Norwegians are proud of their mighty ancestors - the Vikings. They were the first merchants and explorers, they reigned at sea from the 13th century (sails on longships appeared at the same time). They also contributed to the fact that Norway has become one of the leading maritime countries in the world. From the mid-1700s until the revolution of 1717, a brisk trade was carried out between Northern Norway and northern Russia, which, by the way, contributed to the emergence of the famous pidgin. The Gokstad ship depicted on banknotes was discovered in a mound in 1880, and now it is on display at the Drakkar Museum. Against the background of the banknote, the ways of exporting oil and gas from Norway to Europe are schematically depicted.

Slightly elongated lines on the reverse side of the banknote symbolize a light breeze. The globe and the constellation of Orion are also visible.

200 crowns - the sea that feeds us


Cod with a herring and a fishing net in the background

For centuries, fishing has been a key source of food, income and an important part of Norwegian culture. Rich fish waters brought the first settlers to the shores of the future northern country about 11 thousand years ago. In the 18th and 19th centuries, as salt became cheaper and new markets emerged, herring and salted cod became the predominant exports.

On the reverse side of the banknote you can see a fishing boat. The fresh wind is depicted in longer lines than on the 100 kroon note. There is also a fishing net.

500 crowns - the sea that gives us prosperity


Rescue ship RS 14 "Stavanger"

This ship was designed by Norway's most famous shipbuilder, Colin Archer. The ship was launched in 1901 and for 37 years it served the Norwegian Society for the Rescue at Sea "Rødningselskap". The sea is a source of life for the Norwegians, but at the same time it is very dangerous for those who went to collect its gifts. Timely help has saved many lives. Today, more than 40 rescue ships are ready to go to the rescue of ships around the coast 24 hours a day and all year round.

The back of the note features an oil platform, as well as the Norwegian gas pipeline network and a fossil - as a symbol of another important part of the country's economy over the past 50 years - oil.

1000 crowns - the sea that carries us forward


wave image

It is a symbol of an opposing force that hones the character of the Norwegians, and at the same time a driving force - which moves forward, towards the future.

“For a millennium, the sea has been the basis of our wealth, contact with the rest of the world and our faith in the future,” states the website of the Norwegian Central Bank. something infinite and unknown."

On the reverse side, you can see the open sea, and long stripes depict a strong storm. A drawing is noticeable, symbolizing the water molecule and the crystalline structure of ice.

About security

In the final design, the bank deviated from the original intent of the winning studios also because they wanted to increase the level of security. new currency. Banknotes are high-tech objects that contain many complex elements security and codes - both visible and hidden from view. Internationally, banknotes have a universal language, the so-called "banknote design language". Under such conditions, the requirements for the visual component severely limited creative ideas. And yet here they proved to be a kind of engine of creativity, forcing designers to come up with something unique within the set of given parameters.

The Norwegian krone has retained its historical colors - this was done so as not to cause confusion. They were printed on cotton paper with a stain-resistant coating. Intaglio printing was used in the production, and the relief on the sides of the bills helps blind and visually impaired people to distinguish denominations.

Film The making of Norway's new banknotes

If you are interested in learning more about the history of the creation of new banknotes, we suggest you watch this 26-minute video “The making of Norway’s new banknotes”.

Final options on the official website of the Bank of Norway: a pavilion from the Snøhetta studio for watching wild deer.