Norwegian krone facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Norwegian krone
100 kroner banknote obverse
ISO 4217 Code	NOK
User(s)	Kingdom of Norway
Inflation	5.4% (April 2022)
Source	Norges bank
Subunit
1⁄100	øre
Symbol	kr
Plural	kroner
øre	øre
Coins	1, 5, 10, 20 kroner
Banknotes
Freq. used	50, 100, 200, 500 kroner
Rarely used	1000 kroner

The krone (pronounced "kroo-nuh") is the money used in Norway. Its symbol is kr. People sometimes call it the Norwegian crown in English, but this is not common anymore.

One krone used to be divided into 100 øre. However, the last øre coins were stopped in 2012. This means you won't find them in your change today.

The Norwegian krone is an important currency around the world. In April 2010, it was the 13th most traded currency.

You might find that Norwegian krone are sometimes accepted in shops near the border in Sweden and Finland. They are also used in some ferry ports in Denmark. Many Norwegians like to shop across the border. They often buy food, drinks, and tobacco there. This is because these items can be much cheaper outside Norway due to lower taxes.

History of the Norwegian Krone

A 20-krone gold coin from 1874.

The krone was first used in 1875. It replaced the old money called the Norwegian speciedaler. Four kroner were equal to one speciedaler.

When the krone was introduced, Norway joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union. This union started in 1873. It meant that the money in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden could be exchanged equally. This system worked until 1914, when World War I began. After the war, the currencies of these countries were no longer worth the same.

In the Scandinavian Monetary Union, the krone was linked to gold. This was called the gold standard. It meant that 2,480 kroner were worth one kilogram of pure gold. This gold standard was paused during and after the world wars. It was permanently stopped in 1931.

Later, the krone's value was linked to other currencies. In 1933, it was linked to the pound sterling. One pound was worth 19.9 kroner. In 1939, it was linked to the U.S. dollar. One dollar was worth 4.4 kroner.

During the German occupation in World War II, the krone was linked to the German Reichsmark. After the war, new exchange rates were set.

In 1992, the Norges Bank, which is Norway's central bank, changed how the krone's value was set. They decided to let its value float freely. This means the krone's value now changes based on the market.

Types of Coins and Banknotes Over Time

This table shows the different types of coins and banknotes that have been used in Norway:

Norwegian Coins

Coins were first introduced in 1875. These included 10 and 50 øre, and 1 and 10 kroner. Over the next few years, more coins were added. These were 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 øre, and 1, 2, and 10 kroner.

The 1, 2, and 5 øre coins were made of bronze. The 10, 25, and 50 øre, and 1 and 2 kroner coins were made of silver. The 10 and 20 kroner coins were made of gold.

The last gold coins were made in 1910. Silver was replaced by a mix of copper and nickel in 1920. During World War II, zinc was used for some coins because other metals were scarce.

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  The front of a 1940 Norwegian krone coin.

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  The back of the 1940 krone coin.

In 1963, 5 kroner coins were introduced. The making of 1 and 2 øre coins stopped in 1972. The 5-øre coin became smaller, and its production stopped in 1982. The 25 øre coin also stopped being made then. Ten-kroner coins were introduced in 1983. The last 10 øre coins were made in 1992.

Between 1994 and 1998, new coins were released. These were 50 øre, 1, 5, 10, and 20 kroner. Today, only the 1, 5, 10, and 20 kroner coins are used. The 50 øre coin was stopped on May 1, 2012. It was no longer used much for payments. However, banks would still exchange 50 øre coins until 2022.

Current Norwegian Coins

These are the coins you can use in Norway today:

Currently circulating coins
Image		Value	Technical details				What they look like			First made
Front	Back		Size (mm)	Thickness (mm)	Weight (g)	Material	Edge	Front design	Back design
		1 krone	21 mm	1.7 mm	4.35 g	Cupronickel (75% Copper, 25% Nickel)	Smooth	King Harald V's special symbol	A fowl (bird)	1997
		5 kroner	26 mm	2 mm	7.85 g		Milled (grooved)	St. Olav's Order symbol	Acanthus leaves	1998
		10 kroner	24 mm	2 mm	6.8 g	(81% Copper, 10% Zinc, 9% Nickel)	Interrupted milling	King Harald V	A stave church roof	1995
		20 kroner	27.5 mm	2.2 mm	9.9 g		Smooth		A Viking ship	1994
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

The 10 and 20 kroner coins show a picture of the current king, King Harald V. His special saying, Alt for Norge (meaning "Everything for Norway"), is also on the 10 kroner coin. The 1 and 5 kroner coins have royal or national symbols.

The Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway) is in charge of distributing all Norwegian coins and banknotes.

In Norway, you can pay with up to 25 coins of any single value. This is considered a legal way to pay.

Syrian Coins in Norway

Did you know that 10 Syrian pound coins look very similar to Norwegian 20 kroner coins? They are almost the same weight and size. Because of this, vending machines and other coin-operated machines in Norway sometimes get confused. They can't tell the difference between the two coins.

In 2017, a 10 Syrian pound coin was worth much less than a 20-kroner coin. Even though Syrian coins are not common in Norway, people sometimes used them in machines. Because of this, the Norwegian postal service (Posten Norge) even closed some of their coin machines in 2006. They wanted to create a system that could tell the coins apart.

Norwegian Banknotes

In 1877, the Norges Bank started printing banknotes. These included values of 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 kroner.

During times when metal was scarce, like in the world wars, 1 krone and 2 kroner banknotes were printed. This happened from 1917 to 1922 and again from 1940 to 1950.

Over time, some banknotes were replaced by coins. The 5 kroner banknote was replaced by a coin in 1963. The 10 kroner banknote was replaced by a coin in 1984. In 1994, 200 kroner banknotes were introduced.

Current Norwegian Banknotes

Here are the banknotes that are currently used in Norway:

Current series

Image		Value	Size (millimeters)	Main Color		Design		First made
Front	Back					Front design	Back design
		50 kr	126 × 70		Green	Utvær Lighthouse	A stylized lighthouse beam and the Big Dipper constellation	2018
		100 kr	133 × 70		Red	Gokstad ship (a Viking ship)	A stylized container ship, a globe, and the Orion constellation	2017
		200 kr	140 × 70		Blue	A Codfish	A stylized fishing boat, a fishing net, and a beacon	2017
		500 kr	147 × 70		Orange	The rescue vessel RS 14 Stavanger	A stylized oil platform, gas pipelines from the North Sea, and an ammonite fossil	2018
		1000 kr	154 × 70		Purple	A wave in the sea	A stylized horizon and water molecules	2019
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Exchange Rates

Most traded currencies by value
Currency distribution of global foreign exchange market turnover

Rank	Currency	ISO 4217 code (symbol)	% daily share (April 2016)
1	United States dollar	USD ($)	87.6%
2	Euro	EUR (€)	31.4%
3	Japanese yen	JPY (¥)	21.6%
4	Pound sterling	GBP (£)	12.8%
5	Australian dollar	AUD ($)	6.9%
6	Canadian dollar	CAD ($)	5.1%
7	Swiss franc	CHF (Fr)	4.8%
8	Chinese yuan	CNY (¥)	4.0%
9	Swedish krona	SEK (kr)	2.2%
10	New Zealand dollar	NZD ($)	2.1%
11	Mexican peso	MXN ($)	1.9%
12	Singapore dollar	SGD ($)	1.8%
13	Hong Kong dollar	HKD ($)	1.7%
14	Norwegian krone	NOK (kr)	1.7%
15	South Korean won	KRW (₩)	1.7%
16	Turkish lira	TRY (₺)	1.4%
17	Russian ruble	RUB (₽)	1.1%
18	Indian rupee	INR (₹)	1.1%
19	Brazilian real	BRL (R$)	1.0%
20	South African rand	ZAR (R)	1.0%
Other			7.1%
Total Most traded currencies by value Currency distribution of global foreign exchange market turnover Rank Currency ISO 4217 code Symbol or abbreviation Proportion of daily volume, April 2019 Proportion of daily volume, April 2022 1 U.S. dollar USD US$ 88.3% 88.5% 2 Euro EUR € 32.3% 30.5% 3 Japanese yen JPY ¥ / 円 16.8% 16.7% 4 Sterling GBP £ 12.8% 12.9% 5 Renminbi CNY ¥ / 元 4.3% 7.0% 6 Australian dollar AUD A$ 6.8% 6.4% 7 Canadian dollar CAD C$ 5.0% 6.2% 8 Swiss franc CHF CHF 5.0% 5.2% 9 Hong Kong dollar HKD HK$ 3.5% 2.6% 10 Singapore dollar SGD S$ 1.8% 2.4% 11 Swedish krona SEK kr 2.0% 2.2% 12 South Korean won KRW ₩ / 원 2.0% 1.9% 13 Norwegian krone NOK kr 1.8% 1.7% 14 New Zealand dollar NZD NZ$ 2.1% 1.7% 15 Indian rupee INR ₹ 1.7% 1.6% 16 Mexican peso MXN $ 1.7% 1.5% 17 New Taiwan dollar TWD NT$ 0.9% 1.1% 18 South African rand ZAR R 1.1% 1.0% 19 Brazilian real BRL R$ 1.1% 0.9% 20 Danish krone DKK kr 0.6% 0.7% 21 Polish złoty PLN zł 0.6% 0.7% 22 Thai baht THB ฿ 0.5% 0.4% 23 Israeli new shekel ILS ₪ 0.3% 0.4% 24 Indonesian rupiah IDR Rp 0.4% 0.4% 25 Czech koruna CZK Kč 0.4% 0.4% 26 UAE dirham AED د.إ 0.2% 0.4% 27 Turkish lira TRY ₺ 1.1% 0.4% 28 Hungarian forint HUF Ft 0.4% 0.3% 29 Chilean peso CLP CLP$ 0.3% 0.3% 30 Saudi riyal SAR ﷼ 0.2% 0.2% 31 Philippine peso PHP ₱ 0.3% 0.2% 32 Malaysian ringgit MYR RM 0.1% 0.2% 33 Colombian peso COP COL$ 0.2% 0.2% 34 Russian ruble RUB ₽ 1.1% 0.2% 35 Romanian leu RON L 0.1% 0.1% … Other 2.2% 2.5% Total 200.0% 200.0% || style="text-align:right;" | 200.0%

The cost of one euro in Norwegian krone (from 1999)

The value of the Norwegian krone changes a lot compared to other currencies. This is mainly because of changes in oil prices and interest rates. Norway is a big oil exporter, so oil prices really affect its money.

In 2002, the Norwegian krone became very strong against the United States dollar and the euro. For example, in July 2002, 100 kroner were worth about $13.7. This was partly because interest rates were high and oil prices were also high.

In 2005, oil prices reached over $60 per barrel. Even though interest rates were lower, the Norwegian krone became even stronger.

However, the value of the krone can also go down. In late 2007 and early 2008, the dollar became weaker. The krone became very strong against the dollar, with one dollar being worth about 5 kroner in April 2008. But by October 2008, the dollar had recovered.

The krone's value keeps changing. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the krone's value dropped a lot. On March 19, 2020, one dollar cost 12.00 kroner.

Current NOK exchange rates

See also

• Danish krone
• Economy of Norway
• Icelandic króna
• Scandinavian Monetary Union
• Swedish krona