Oscar I

Oscar I’s reign

Oscar I succeeded his father Carl XIV Johan in 1844 and reigned until his death in 1859. His years were a period of economic growth in Norway, with the first railway, Hovedbanen between Christiania and Eidsvoll, opened in 1854, and new industry and shipping. In 1844 he also introduced the union mark in the Norwegian and Swedish flags. The monetary system was still based on the speciedaler of 120 skilling, and all Norwegian coins were struck at Kongsberg.

12 and 24 skilling

The 12 skilling was a tenth of a speciedaler and the 24 skilling a fifth. They were the everyday silver coins of the time, and the 12 skilling was struck in many years of the reign. That makes the type popular for year collections. The coins in this category cover 1846 to 1856, among them the overdate 1853/2, where the last digit is struck over a 2 from an older die.

What do collectors look for?

• Year and variant: some years and overdates are harder to find than others.
• Wear: look at the details of the portrait or arms and the sharpness of the legend.
• Surface: original toning is preferred to cleaned, shiny surfaces.

How do you spot an overdate?

Look closely at the last digit of the date with a magnifying glass. On an overdate, traces of the underlying digit show as extra lines or curves around the new one. The overdate is stated on each coin where it applies, together with catalogue references.

See also Carl XIV Johan and Carl XV.