The first banknotes in the world were made in China in about 1000, because metal money in the form of coins had become too heavy to travel with and was not well-suited for large transactions. The first banknotes were issued with a guarantee that they could be redeemed for gold or silver, and in some cases were merely a receipt that you had deposited gold or silver in a bank.
The first European banknotes were issued by the Swedish Riksbank in 1661.
The first Danish banknotes
The first Danish banknotes were issued between 1713 and 1728. The high cost of armaments during the Great Northern War resulted in coins disappearing abroad. To facilitate circulation, ‘authorised banknotes’ were therefore issued. The banknotes should have had the same denominations as the coins, but could not be exchanged for coins.
Danes, however, had no confidence in the paper money, and the exchange rate therefore quickly fell to far below that of the coin denominations. The banknotes were withdrawn again in 1728.
A money system built on trust
Both cash and money in a bank account are based on trust. Citizens and businesses must have confidence that banknotes are not issued in such massive quantities that they lose their purchasing power in the way that happened in 1813. Back then, the King allowed the banknote printing press to run to finance massive war costs when Denmark was drawn into the Napoleonic Wars on the side of the French. This led to inflation in excess of 300 per cent, and citizens lost all confidence in the value of the money.
Danmarks Nationalbank was therefore established to create order in the monetary system, and to restore citizens’ trust in the system and money in general. And this trust is something we continue to nurture today. We do so, among other things, by constantly making sure that the banknotes are kept up to date with the best and latest security features, so they are as difficult to counterfeit as possible.
In addition, Danmarks Nationalbank is independent of politicians or other authorities who might instruct Danmarks Nationalbank to print more money to finance deficits in the state budget.
Danmarks Nationalbank’s first banknotes
Danmarks Nationalbank issued its first banknotes in 1819. The first banknotes had very high denominations. The largest banknote in the 1819 banknote series was 100 rigsbankdaler. This was the equivalent of half the annual salary of a teller at Danmarks Nationalbank or a whole year’s pay for a manual labourer in Odense. Even the lowest denomination banknote – 1 rigsbankdaler – corresponded to a few days’ pay.
The first banknotes were therefore used for large financial transactions, for settling purchases on credit and for savings. Citizens still used coins for the majority of their daily purchases.
Historical banknote series
The face of the banknotes
1 rigsbankdaler: Identical cartouches (‘framed figures’) on each side.
5 rigsbankdaler: Identical arabesques on each side.
10 rigsbankdaler: Arabesque with cartouche on the left-hand side.
50 rigsbankdaler: Cartouche frame around the entire banknote.
100 rigsbankdaler: The left-hand side of the banknote is decorated with, among other things, flower borders and an oval with Denmark’s three lions, Norway’s lion with halberd and Holstein’s nettle leaf.
The face of the banknotes / the reverse of the banknotes
5 rigsbankdaler: Blue with black print. Tessellated frame around the whole banknote. Decorative elements along all four sides. / Blank.
20 rigsbankdaler: Pale green with black print. Thick borders around the banknote so that it resembles a framed picture. / The large coat of arms with two savages supporting the shield.
50 rigsbankdaler: The large coat of arms. / Leaf mosaic.
100 rigsbankdaler: The first Danish banknote to be printed on both sides. In the two side fields Mercury (symbolising trade) and Neptune (the sea), and in the middle of the lower part of the banknote Minerva (crafts) and Ceres (fertility). / Tessellated frame.
The face of the banknotes / the reverse of the banknotes
5 rigsdaler: Black print on a blue base. Rich decorations on the whole banknote. Neptune in a medallion in the left-hand side, and Ceres on the right-hand side. / Blank.
10 rigsdaler: See the description of the 20-rigsbankdaler banknote in the 1834 series.
50 rigsdaler: See the description of the 50-rigsbankdaler banknote in the 1834 series.
100 rigsdaler: See the description of the 100-rigsbankdaler banknote in the 1834 series.
The face of the banknotes / the reverse of the banknotes
10 kroner: The small coat of arms with Minerva and Ceres holding the shield. / Blank.
50 kroner: Blue letterpress with decorative frame. / In the middle a garland of leaves surrounded by rows of bees.
100 kroner: On an oval arabesque lie chubby children (putti), lions and dolphins. Medallions with Mercury and Vulcan on the left and right-hand sides. / Dolphins.
500 kroner: Obverse as on the 100-rigsbankdaler banknote in the 1834 series, but redrawn with a few changes. / Frame with leaf and fruit pattern. Three medallions (portraits and coats of arms) surrounded by garlands of leaves.
The face of the banknotes / the reverse of the banknotes
5 kroner: Mosaic of figures of fives. / Interwoven figures of five.
10 kroner: The large coat of arms with two savages holding the shield on the left-hand side. / Three empty fields. String of ten 1-krone coins at the bottom.
50 kroner: Female figure with a shield (Mother Denmark) in the left-hand field. / Decorative elements.
100 kroner: Female figure standing on a head of Medusa. / Sea nymph and Ceres flanking the small coat of arms.
The face of the banknotes / the reverse of the banknotes
5 kroner: Landscape with a dolmen. / The small coat of arms surrounded by birch leaves. 10 kroner: Seaweed decoration. / Lions around a head of Hermes (or Mercury).
50 kroner: Boat with fishermen drawing in their nets. / The small coat of arms surrounded by oak and beech branches.
100 kroner: Seaweed decoration surrounded by dolphins. / Mermen flanking the small coat of arms.
500 kroner: Farmer behind a horse-drawn plough (‘a ploughman’). / The small coat of arms surrounded by oak and beech branches.
The face of the banknotes / the reverse of the banknotes
5 kroner: Interwoven figures of five. / Rosettes with the small coat of arms in the middle.
10 kroner: Seaweed decoration. / Rosettes with the small coat of arms in the middle.
50 kroner: Boat with fishermen. / Rosettes with the small coat of arms in the middle.
100 kroner: Seaweed decoration surrounded by dolphins. / Rosettes with the small coat of arms in the middle.
500 kroner: Farmer behind horse-drawn plough. / Rosettes with the small coat of arms in the middle.
The face of the banknotes / the reverse of the banknotes
5 kroner: Portrait of the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen and his marble sculpture The Three Graces on the right-hand side. / Town of Kalundborg.
10 kroner: Portrait of the writer Hans Christian Andersen and a stork’s nest from Asminderød. / Egeskov Windmill in Kværndrup Parish.
50 kroner: Astronomer and physicist Ole Rømer and the Round Tower in Copenhagen. / Stenvad long barrow on Djursland.
100 kroner: Portrait of the scientist Hans Christian Ørsted and a compass with an electrical wire. / Kronborg Castle.
500 kroner: Agricultural reformer Christian Ditlev Frederik Reventlow and a farmer with a horse and plough. / City of Roskilde.
The face of the banknotes / the reverse of the banknotes
10 kroner: Cathrine Sophie Kirchhoff. / Queen eider.
20 kroner: Pauline Tutein. / Sparrows.
50 kroner: Engelke Charlotte Ryberg. / Crucian carp.
100 kroner: Self-portrait of Jens Juel. / ‘Red underwing’ moth.
500 kroner: Portrait of unknown woman, probably Franziska Genoveva von Qualen. / Lizard.
1000 kroner: Thomasine Heiberg. / Squirrel.
The face of the banknotes / the reverse of the banknotes
50 kroner: The writer Karen Blixen. / Centaur from Landet Church on the island of Tåsinge.
100 kroner: The composer Carl Nielsen. / Basilisk from Tømmerby Church in Vester Hanherred.
200 kroner: The actress Johanne Luise Heiberg. / Lion from the apse at Viborg Cathedral.
500 kroner: The nuclear scientist Niels Bohr. / Knight in armour and dragon from the font in Lihme Church.
1000 kroner: The artists Anna and Michael Ancher. / Tournament scene from Bislev Church in northern Jutland.
The face of the banknotes / the reverse of the banknotes
50 kroner: The Sallingsund Bridge. / The Skarpsalling Vessel, Himmerland.
100 kroner: The Old Little Belt Bridge. / The Hindsgavl dagger from the island of Fænø.
200 kroner: Knippels Bridge in Copenhagen. / Belt plate from Langstrup.
500 kroner: The bridge Dronning Alexandrine’s Bro. / Bronze pail from Keldby.
1000 kroner: The Great Belt Bridge. / The Sun Chariot from Trundholm Bog.