The Danish colonial empire existed between 1536 and 1944. This survey will feature 19th-20th century coins issued for Denmark's colonies located in Europe (Iceland, Faroe Islands) and America (Greenland, Danish West Indies).
At the same time, Denmark had colonial possessions in Africa (Colony of the Gold Coast - now Ghana) and Asia (Colonies of Trankebar, Serampore and Nicobar Islands - now part of India, Danish settlements in Ceylon - now part of Sri Lanka). Denmark sold these territories to Great Britain in the middle of the 19th century.
Iceland
The discoverers of this island, located in the west of Northern Europe, are the Vikings, who discovered it in the 60s of the 9th century. The name for the island "Ice Country" (Iceland), according to legend, was invented by the legendary Viking traveler Floki. This cannot be accurately determined by the nature and living conditions on the island. The settlement of the island occurred a little later, when those who disagreed with the policy of uniting the country by the then Norwegian king Harald I, the Scandinavian families were forced to look for a new place of residence.
Iceland officially felt like a state in 930, when the first meeting of the national assembly (althing) took place. In 1262, the Icelandic leaders signed a treaty with Norway, according to which they recognized the supreme power over the island of the Norwegian monarchs.
In 1397, the unification of the three Scandinavian states of Denmark, Sweden and Norway took place under the leadership of Denmark, known as the "Kalmar Union," which lasted until 1523. Iceland joined the union, being part of Norway. In 1536, the union fell apart: Sweden left the union, and Norway was included in the Danish-Norwegian union. As a result of the Kiel Peace Treaty of 1814, Denmark transferred Norway to Sweden, while the territories of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands remained in the possession of Denmark.
During this period in history, Iceland did not have its own money, but used the currency of the Danish kingdom.
In 1873, Denmark became part of the Scandinavian Coin Union, under the terms of which coins of Denmark, Norway and Sweden could circulate freely on the island.
At the same time, in the 19th century, due to the lack of bargaining chips for circulation on the island, local industrialists and merchants were forced to resort to settlements using their own tokens, including those made in large factories in mainland Europe, for example, at the L.Chr.Lauer factory in Nuremberg. Monetary tokens indicated denominations in shillings, crowns and aurars. Due to the fact that the cost of the same product when calculating in tokens was much higher than when calculating in the official money of the Scandinavian countries, Iceland in 1901 adopted a law according to which the manufacture and circulation of private tokens was prohibited.
The State Bank of Iceland in 1885 officially separated from the State Bank of Denmark, approved its own currency - the "Icelandic krone" and tied it to the Danish krone. At the same time, their own coins were issued only in 1922, 4 years after Iceland was declared an independent state as part of a personal union with Denmark. These were copper-nickel 10 and 25 aurar.
By 1926, the line of coins was fully formed and included 1, 2, 5 aurars of bronze, 10, 25 aurars of copper-nickel alloy, 1, 2 crowns of aluminum-bronze alloy.
KM # 7.1, 5 Aurar 1931, bronze, 311 thousand copies, production years 1926.1931
KM # 1.1, 10 aurar 1923, copper-nickel alloy, 302 thousand equivalent, years of manufacture 1922-1939
KM # 2.1, 25 aurar 1925, copper-nickel alloy, 207 thousand equivalent, years of manufacture 1922-1937
KM # 3.1, 1 krona 1925, aluminum-bronze alloy, 252 thousand equivalent, years of production 1925-1940
KM # 4.1, 2 crowns 1925, aluminum-bronze alloy, 126 thousand equivalent, years of manufacture 1925,1929
In 1922, the Icelandic krone rate was artificially reduced in relation to the Danish krone by 23%, which was a signal of the beginning of an independent monetary policy of Iceland. In 1925, the Icelandic krone was pegged to the British pound, and in 1939 to the US dollar.
In 1940, Denmark was occupied by Germany, and Iceland by Great Britain. In this regard, special coins were issued with changes in design details.
After the liberation of Denmark, from June 17, 1944 Iceland became independent, so the next issue of coins was issued without the monogram of the ruling monarch.
Greenland
The first inhabitants of the island of Greenland were the Arctic peoples, but before the discovery of the island by Europeans, it depopulated. In 980, the Viking Eric the Red was expelled for three years from Iceland for killing a neighbor. Gathering his family, servants and livestock, he set out west, in the direction of the land, which in clear weather could be seen from the peaks of the mountains of western Iceland. He was not the first to know of the land. Shortly before that, other Vikings had already sailed there: the Norwegian Gunnbjörn Ulfson and the Icelander Snebjörn Borov. For three years, Eric lived on the island, and returning to his homeland, he began to agitate the local Vikings to relocate to the "green" land (Grønland) he called. Given the harsh climate of Iceland, this name should have attracted as many immigrants as possible. The enterprising Viking managed to persuade a considerable number of settlers to join him, and at the end of the 9th century a flotilla of 25 ships moved west. Only 14 ships reached their destination with 350 settlers, who founded the first European settlement on the island, called Eystribyggd (Eastern Settlement). Natural travelers who moved to the island of Greenland, Vikings long before other Europeans, visited the north of the American continent (about 1000), and even attempted to establish settlements there, but Indian raids forced them to abandon this venture and return back to the island.
Greenland was independent until 1261, when its population swore allegiance to the Norwegian king, and then, together with Norway, became part of the Kalmar Union.
Since 1721, the only legal tender in Greenland has been money from the Kingdom of Denmark. After the creation of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, Norwegian and Swedish money was also in circulation on the island.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, in the Danish colonies in Greenland, several companies issued private tokens to settle with workers . These are Yoshwa/Innatsiak Copper Mine (Greenland Mining LTD), Ivigtut Cryolite Mines (Ivigtut Cryolite Mining & Trading CO), Thule-Kap York Trading Station (Thule-Kap York).
The mining village of Ivigtut was founded in 1951 to develop the deposits of Cryolite deposits found there. Cryolite was discovered in 1806 and active mining began in 1865. Tokens for circulation were issued only in 1922. In 1987, cryolite reserves dried up and therefore the mines and the village ceased to exist.
KM # Tn46, Ivigtut Cryolite Mines 10 Ore 1922, Copper-Nickel Alloy, 10 kEq, Single Year of Production
KM # Tn48, Ivigtut Cryolite Mines 2 Crown 1922, Copper-Nickel Alloy, 4 kEq, Single Year of Manufacture
KM # Tn49, Ivigtut Cryolite Mines 10 kroner 1922, Copper-Nickel Alloy, 10.7 kEq, Single Year of Manufacture
Special coins for Greenland were issued in 1926. It was a line of three coins in denominations of 25 ore, 50 ore and 1 crown. The materials and size of the coins corresponded to Danish coins of the time.
KM # 5, 25th ore 1926, copper-nickel alloy, 310 thousand equivalent, only year of production
KM # 7, 50 ore 1926, aluminum-bronze alloy, 196 thousand exes, only year of production
KM # 8, 1 kroon 1926, aluminum-bronze alloy, 287 thousand equivalent, only year of production
In 1940, in New York, holes were made for 60 thousand coins in denominations of 25 or. This was done in order to avoid confusion with the 1 krona coin when circulating coins.
KM # 6, 25th ore 1926, copper-nickel alloy, 60 thousand equivalent, only year of production
During World War II, Greenland lost contact with occupied Denmark and became close to the United States and Canada. At the end of the war, Denmark regained control of the island, while refusing to call it a colony and granted special rights within the Danish kingdom.
In 1944, the Philadelphia Mint issued coins on brass blanks in denominations of 5 crowns.
KM # 9, 5 kroner 1944, aluminum-bronze alloy, 100 kEq, single year of manufacture
Faroe Islands
Presumably from the VI century, the Faroe Islands were inhabited by Irish monks. After the Norwegian Vikings began to develop Iceland and Greenland in the 9th century, they began to use the Faroe Islands as a communication base for long sea voyages, and gradually supplanted the monks. In the second half of the XII century, the Faroe Islands became part of Norway and continued to remain there until 1814, after which they became part of Denmark, like other territories.
For a long time, their coins were not issued for the Faroe Islands, since the currency of Denmark was used, but since they periodically ceased to be enough, local industrialists mastered the issue of their own money. So, at the end of the 19th century, the German company C.F. Siemsen, trading in the Faroe Islands and Iceland, issued copper payment tokens in denominations of 4 and 16 skills. On one side was the denomination, on the other - the abbreviation C.F.S . In 1929-1933, two private traders also organized the issue of private tokens. J.F. Kjølbro from Klaksvik minted aluminum coins in denominations of 10, 25 and 50 era, 1, 2, 5 and 10 kronor, and S.P. Petersens Eftf from Fuglafjörður issued copper 5, 10 and 25 era, 1, 2 and 5 kronor.
Special money for the Faroe Islands did not officially enter circulation until 1941 after the occupation of the islands by British forces. Moreover, the issue of these coins was organized in London, by agreement of the British government with the administration of the Faroe Islands, after tying the Faroese crown to the British pound with an exchange rate of 22.4 crowns = 1 pound. The line of coins issued resembles the pre-war coins of Denmark, but they lack the marks of the Royal Danish Mint, as well as the initials of the engraver and minter.
After World War II, as a result of two referendums and lengthy negotiations with Denmark, the Faroe Islands received limited sovereignty, but the foreign policy of the islands was still handled by the Danish government. Since 1949, the Faroese krone has been re-tied to the Danish krone at an equal rate.
Danish West Indies
The Danish West Indies is the most remote colony from mainland Denmark, consisting of three islands: St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas. From the second half of the 17th century, the islands were managed by the Danish West Indian Company. For circulation on the islands in 1740, the first coins were issued. They did not come up with any special name for the currency, so the money was called skilling, as in Denmark itself. 96 skilling formed the 1 West Indian rigsdaler, while the 1 West Indian rigsdaler made up 4⁄5 parts of the Danish rigsdaler.
Initially, in 1740, coins were issued in denominations of 1, 2 and 12 skills. A little later, in 1748, 12 skills were issued with the profile of the then Danish monarch Frederick V.
In 1755, the Kingdom of Denmark included these territories among its possessions. In this connection, in 1757-1767, another issue of coins in denominations of 6, 12 and 24 skilling took place. Despite the fact that coins were minted in Denmark itself, at the mints of Copenhagen, Altona and Kongsberg, the legend on the coins read "Dansk Amerik (ansk) M (ynt)" (Danish American coinage). This was done to distinguish them from the shillings circulating in mainland Denmark.
In the first half of the 19th century, three lines of coins were issued, consisting of coins in denominations of 2, 10 and 20 skills.
In 1849, the decimalization of the monetary unit was carried out. The prefix "rigs" disappeared from the senior denomination, and the West Indian daler became equal to 100 cents. I note that despite the fact that the prefix "rigs" at the same time disappeared from the Daler of Denmark, the transition to the decimal system in the metropolis occurred 25 years later. At the same time, when in Denmark during the reform of 1874 dalers and skillings were replaced by crowns and ore, the name of the monetary units of the colony was left unchanged.
After switching to the decimal system, the colony did not have time to issue its own coins, but put into circulation US coins in denominations of ¼ dollars in 1849 and ½ dollars in 1848, 1849, 1850 with a nadchekan in the form of a FRVII monogram with a crown at the top. These denominations in extremely limited quantities entered circulation on September 28, 1850, and only they are considered genuine, circulating in the Danish West Indies.
A number of sources insist that at the same time, in addition to the above coins, other coins with nadchekans were in circulation in the Danish West Indies. These are coins of the USA (½ and 1 cent, 1 dollar), British West Indies (1⁄8 and ¼ dollars), Great Britain (farthing, ½ and 6 pence, 1 shilling, ½ and 1 crown), France (5 Su and ½ francs), Mexico (8 reais), Netherlands (25 cents), Spain (4 maravedi, 1, 2 and 4 reais), Brazil. All of the above denominations have a dubious type of over-the-counter and were mainly made in France for sale to numismatists. These rukobluda were never in circulation in the Danish West Indies.
Their own coins were "brought" to the colony in 1859. The line included coins in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 cents. On the obverse of the one-cent coin depicted the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Denmark, on the obverse of the remaining denominations - the profile of King Frederick VII.
KM # 63, 1 cent 1859, bronze, 216 thousand copies, years 1859-1860
KM # 64, 3 cents 1859, silver 0.625, 291 thousand copies, only year of production
KM # 65, 5 cents 1859, silver 0.625. 150 kEq, single year of manufacture
After Christian IX ascended the Danish throne, in 1868-1878 a line of coins was issued with his profile and the corresponding legend: 1, 5, 10 and 20 cents.
KM # 68, 1 cent 1868, bronze, 240 thousand copies, years of manufacture 1868-1883
In 1904, the Joint Stock National Bank of the Danish West Indies was established, which was given the exclusive right to issue coins and banknotes in this colony of the Kingdom of Denmark for a period of 30 years. The head office was located in Charlotte Amalia on St. Thomas and opened in February 1905. A monetary reform was carried out, according to which the monetary system acquired a complex system: 1 daler = 5 francs = 100 cents = 500 bits. 1 franc of the Danish West Indies equated to 0.72 Danish krona.
In this regard, in 1905 a line of coins with a double denomination came into circulation: in cents/bits and cents/francs. On the obverse of the younger denominations, the monogram of the ruling monarch Christian IX is indicated, on the obverse of the older, silver coins - his profile. Gold and silver coins were minted according to the standard of the Latin Monetary Union, in connection with which 1 West Indian franc corresponded to 1 French franc.
KM # 75, 1 cent (5 bit) 1905, bronze, 500 thousand copies, only year of production
KM # 77, 5 cents (25 bit) 1905, nickel, 199 kEq, single year of manufacture
KM # 78. 10 cents (50 bit) 1905, silver 0.800. 175 kEq, single year of manufacture
During the reign of the next Danish monarch - Frederick VIII, in 1907 only two denominations were issued - 10 and 20 cents.
And Christian X produces only one coin - 1 cent (5 bits).
KM # 83, 1 cent (5 bit) 1913, bronze, 200 kEq, single year of manufacture
In 1917, Denmark sold its colony to the United States of America. A prerequisite for the sale agreement was the preservation of the right of the National Bank of the Danish West Indies to a 30-year cash issue granted to it in 1904. As a result, until July 14, 1934, their money continued to circulate on the islands of the former Danish colony, while legally these territories were already part of the United States. A year later, in 1935, Danish West Indian money lost its ability to pay and was exchanged for US dollars at the rate of 0.965 US dollars for 1 West Indian daler or 0.193 US dollars for 1 West Indian franc.