Last week two of Norway’s new maritime banknotes entered circulation, 100 and 200 kroner. Viking ships and fish have taken the place of cultural and historical figures on the reverse.
For the first time in history, Norwegian banknotes do not feature portraits. Instead, the new notes all reflect a common theme: “The Sea”.
According to Norges Bank, each denomination features an easily recognized primary motif on one side that communicates central characteristics of Norwegian maritime history. Think Viking boats, lighthouses, and the like. The reverse side is pixelated and feature an abstraction of sea and wind.
Norway’s new banknotes have earned praise and adulation online for the unusual artistic design behind them.
Norway’s central bank has also made a bizarre music video to celebrate its new ‘cod’ banknotes, promoting the imminent launch of its new banknotes, which feature the national fish, the cod, on them and using the slogan “cod is coming” (torsken kommer). The video plays on the rhyme between the Norwegian words ‘torsk’ (cod) and ‘norsk’ (Norwegian).
The video has received international attention, with British newspaper Financial Times even translating the lyrics to English.
New 50 and 500 krone notes, which will be adorned on the reverse by a lighthouse and the lifeboat Stavanger respectively, will be released at the end of next year. A new 1000 kroner note with a blue wave will be released in 2019. All banknotes are designed by The Metric System (the team of Christian Schnitler and Are Kleivan).
The old 100 and 200 krone notes remain legal tender for 12 months and can be exchanged by Norges Bank for up to ten years after the release of the new notes.
Norway’s New Banknotes in Circulation, written by Tor Kjolberg