Banknotes

Banknotes from Norway and the rest of the world

The banknote category covers paper money from five continents, from the early 1800s to the present. It is divided into regions: Norway, Europe, Africa, America, Asia and Australasia. Europe is the largest group, with British notes from the Bank of England white fiver of 1945 to Scottish, Channel Islands and armed forces issues, as well as Nordic, German, Dutch and French notes. Asia is dominated by Chinese notes from the 1930s and uncut renminbi sheets dated 1953; Africa has colonial notes and specimens from the decades after independence; America ranges from uncut US sheets of the mid-1800s and the Civil War to modern Caribbean notes.

Norwegian banknotes from rigsdaler to kroner

The Norwegian notes cover more than two centuries. The oldest are a Danish-Norwegian rigsdaler from 1803 and a 5 rigsbankdaler from 1814, from the time before Norges Bank issued its own notes. From the krone period there is the 10 kroner 1944 printed in London for the government in exile, specimens of 10 kroner 1944 and 100 kroner 1945, a series of 500 kroner from 1951 to 1976, 50 and 1000 kroner from the 1980s, notes in consecutive serial order, a replacement note and a single-sided proof print from around 1980.

How is the condition of a banknote graded?

Condition is the single most important factor for the value of a banknote. Norwegian dealers use a scale where 0 means uncirculated, 01 nearly uncirculated, 1+ a well-preserved note with light traces of use, 1 fine with several folds and 1- or lower for well-used notes. In English the corresponding terms are roughly UNC, aUNC, EF, VF and F.

When grading a note we look at:

• Folds and creases: a single centre fold can be enough to take a note out of uncirculated grade.
• Stains, foxing and discolouration, often caused by damp storage.
• Pinholes, tears, tape and repairs, which lower the value considerably.
• Corners and edges: rounded corners and soft edges reveal circulation.
• Washed or pressed notes: notes that have been treated to hide folds are valued lower by collectors.

Every flaw that matters is mentioned in the description, and the photographs show the note front and back.

Series, signatures, replacement notes and specimens

The same denomination can exist in many years, series and signature combinations, and catalogues separate them. Foreign notes are usually described with their Pick number from the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, and Norwegian notes with the number from Sæthre’s catalogue.

Replacement notes were printed to replace sheets that were damaged during production. They are marked differently from the ordinary series, for example with a star in the United States, and are collected as separate varieties. Specimens were made to show banks and authorities what a new note looked like. They are marked SPECIMEN, often have zero serial numbers or punched holes, and were never legal tender. Notes in consecutive serial order and uncut sheets are other specialities represented in the category.

Buy banknotes with confidence

Every banknote at Denarius is examined, photographed and described, and has its own protocol number. Most are single examples, so the note you see is the note you receive. Denarius guarantees that everything sold is genuine and as described, and ships worldwide. If you collect coins as well, see the Worldwide category for coins from the same countries.