Rare Norwegian coins: Norway’s most valuable dates and types
Which Norwegian coins are the rarest, and why? From Olav Kyrre's pennies and the archbishop's skillings to the Schydtz coins of 1689 and the key dates of the krone era.
From Denarius
Coin collecting guides and numismatics articles
Guides and stories for coin collecting: Norwegian and ancient coins, banknotes and medals, with sources and objects from the Denarius collection.
Latest articles
Names of Roman Coins: From the As to the Solidus
As, sestertius, denarius, antoninianus, nummus, maiorina and solidus: the names of Roman coins, what they were worth and which emperors introduced them.
Norwegian medieval coins: penning, hvid and skilling (1280–1537)
From Eirik Magnusson's lion pennies to Olav Engelbrektsson's skillings: Norwegian medieval coins from 1280 to 1537 explained, including the gap after 1387…
Norwegian Medals and Orders: St Olav, the War Cross and the King’s Medal of Merit
From the War Cross with Sword and the Order of St Olav to the King's Medal of Merit: who awards Norwegian medals…
Medieval coins: hammered pennies, groats and gold
From the silver penny to the groat and the great gold coins: a collector's guide to medieval coins, how they were made…
Ancient Chinese coins: knife money, bridge money and cash coins
From Zhou-period knife money and bridge money to round cash coins with a square hole: the story of ancient Chinese coins and…
Islamic coins: dinars and dirhams of the caliphates
The gold dinar and silver dirham were created by Caliph Abd al-Malik in 696–699 and carry words instead of portraits. Here is…
Old Norwegian banknotes: the 500-krone note and other withdrawn series
Which old Norwegian banknotes can still be exchanged at Norges Bank, and which only have collector value? The rules, the 500-krone note…
Byzantine coins: a collector’s guide to the follis and solidus
From Anastasius' big follis of 498 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453: how to read Byzantine coins, what the M and…
2 skilling 1810: one of Norway’s most common old coins and the coins of Frederik VI
The 2 skilling 1810 is one of the old Norwegian coins people find most often. Here is the story of the Kongsberg…
What are old Norwegian coins worth? Price guide and rare dates
Most old Norwegian coins are worth little, but condition, silver, gold and rare dates can command high prices. Here is the price…
Norwegian banknotes through history
From thor Møhlen’s notes of 1695 to today’s sea-themed series: the history of Norwegian banknotes, the Norges Bank series, what collectors look…
Buying gold coins as a collector: what to know
Thinking of buying gold coins as a collector? Here is how collectible gold coins differ from bullion, what drives their value, and…
Viking coins: from hacksilver to Olav Kyrre – a buyer’s guide
The Vikings paid in silver by weight, often cut into pieces. This guide explains which Viking age coins exist, from dirhams to…
Bracteates explained: Norway’s thin medieval coins
A bracteate is a paper-thin silver coin struck on one side only, and for much of the Middle Ages it was Norway's…
How to clean Roman coins (and when not to)
Cleaning ancient coins usually does more harm than good. Here is when to leave a Roman coin alone, and how to clean…
Alexander the Great coins: a collector’s guide
Herakles in a lion skin, Zeus on his throne: how to understand, date and value an Alexander the Great coin, from tetradrachm…
Skilling and speciedaler: Norway’s old currency explained
How many skilling made a rigsdaler, and what was a speciedaler worth in kroner? Norway's pre-1875 money system explained, period by period.
Norwegian coins: a collector’s guide
A thousand years of Norwegian coins in one guide: the main periods, kings and mints, how grading works in Norway, and how…
The widow’s mite: the coin from the Gospel
The widow's mite is the tiny bronze coin from Mark 12 and Luke 21. Here is what a lepton was, which ancient…
What is a denarius worth?
The denarius was Rome's main silver coin for more than four centuries. Here is what it was worth in ancient Rome, and…
Two Remarkable German Bracteates from Mainz and Halberstadt
In early 2022, Denarius published two remarkable German bracteates in the space of two weeks: a huge coin from the archbishopric of…
Our 2022 Fundraiser for Children and Families in Ukraine
In March 2022, Denarius held a fundraiser for Ukraine: a share of every sale on denarius.no for the rest of that month…
The Final Proof Banknote for the 5 Kroner Note, Series IV
This proof banknote is a rare survivor from the making of Norway’s 5 kroner note in the fourth series, the note with…
20 kroner test proof coin 1909 – before Norway’s gold coins of 1910
The 20 kroner test proof coins of 1909 were struck in tiny numbers while Norway prepared new gold coins bearing the portrait…
500 kroner proof from c. 1900 – a rare green banknote proof
In 2021 Denarius presented a very rare Norwegian 500 kroner proof, dated c. 1900. The second edition banknotes that circulated until the…
Doorstep delivery during the coronavirus outbreak in 2020
Doorstep delivery was a service Denarius introduced in March 2020, in response to the coronavirus outbreak. At the time, customers could have…
The Medal for Heroic Deeds – Norway’s rescue medal from 1885
The Medal for Heroic Deeds – Medaillen for Ædel Daad in the spelling of the time – was instituted by King Oscar…
Tordenskiold’s Bluff at Marstrand 1719
Tordenskiold’s bluff at Marstrand in July 1719 is one of the best-known episodes in the military history of Denmark-Norway, and it was…
King Sverre’s Coins and the Dæli Farm Treasure
King Sverre’s coins are known to us mainly from four important coin finds from his reign. Sverre Sigurdsson was king of Norway…
Falck-Muus’ Røros Medal 1944
Falck-Muus’ Røros medal 1944, known in Norwegian as Bergstadsmedaljen, was made for the 300th anniversary of the mining town of Røros, and…
Free Handlerkatalog 2018
Handlerkatalog 2018 was a free gift for Denarius customers in Norway in the summer of 2018: anyone who spent more than NOK…
Welcome to the New Denarius: Our Own Online Coin Auction (2017)
An online coin auction of our own was the biggest news when Denarius launched its new website in 2017. Technology ages and…
Animals on Coins: Propaganda, Power and Murder
Animals on coins are as old as coinage itself. Since the first coins were struck around 600 BC, an enormous number of…
The Runde Treasure: Gold and Silver from the Akerendam
The Runde treasure is one of the most remarkable coin finds ever made in Norway: gold and silver coins from the Dutch…
Coin collecting and numismatics
Numismatics is the study of coins, banknotes, medals and other forms of money: how they were made and used, who issued them and what they tell us about their time. The word comes from Latin numisma and Greek nomisma, meaning coin. Coin collecting is the practical side of numismatics, enjoyed by collectors all over the world.
Good coin collecting starts with knowing types, dates and varieties, judging condition and understanding what makes an object rare. Our coin collecting guides explain this step by step, from Viking-age coins and medieval bracteates to skilling, speciedaler and krone, and from Roman denarii to Norwegian banknotes.
Our articles are based on sources such as Norges Bank, Store norske leksikon and the coin cabinet at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo. Each article lists its sources at the end and links to the objects in the collection that it covers.
Coin collecting questions
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What is coin collecting?
Coin collecting is the hobby of collecting coins, banknotes and medals for their history, rarity or beauty. It is the practical side of numismatics, the study of money, and collectors often focus on one country, period or type.
How do I start coin collecting?
Pick an area that interests you, for example Norwegian coins of one king or Roman denarii, and read up in a catalogue. Buy objects with a clear description and good photos, and build the collection step by step. Our coin collecting guides explain each area in turn.
What is the difference between coin collecting and numismatics?
Numismatics is the study of coins and money as historical sources, while coin collecting is the hobby of building a collection. Many collectors become skilled numismatists, and museums depend on both.
Where can I learn more about coin collecting?
Join a numismatic society, visit a museum coin cabinet and use standard catalogues for your area. Our articles cover Norwegian, ancient and world coins, banknotes and medals, with sources at the end of each article.