The rigsdaler specie was a unit of silver currency used in Norway from 1544, renamed as the speciedaler in 1816 and used until 1873. Norway used a common reichsthaler currency system shared with Denmark, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein until 1873 when the gold standard was implemented in Scandinavia and the German Empire.
The reichsthaler currency system used in Northern Europe until 1873 consisted of the silver Reichsthaler specie (Rigsdaler specie) worth 120 skillings in Norway and Denmark, and the lower-valued Rigsdaler courant worth 4⁄5th of specie or 96 skillings (both units worth 60 and 48 schellingen, respectively, in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein). The Hamburg Bank equated 91⁄4 reichsthalers specie to a Cologne Mark of fine silver, hence 25.28 g silver in a rigsdaler specie.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, coins were issued in denominations of 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24 skilling, 1⁄15, 1⁄5, 1⁄3, 1⁄2, 2⁄3 and 1 rigsdaler specie.
In 1695, government notes were issued for 10, 20, 25, 50 and 100 rigsdaler (spelt rixdaler). [1] In 1807, notes were reintroduced by the government, in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 100 rigsdaler courant, with 12 skilling notes added in 1810. [1] In 1813, Rigsbankens Norske Avdeling began issuing notes. [1] in denominations of 1, 5, 50, and 100 Rigsbankdaler. [2] Subsequent series were issued by Norges Midlertidige Rigsbank (1814), Stattholderbevis (1815), and Norges Bank (1817–22 to the present). [3]
After the Napoleonic Wars Denmark dropped out of the system described above in favor of a lower-valued Danish rigsdaler. However Norway retained the system even after its union with Sweden, renaming the specie coin as the Speciedaler but still divided into 120 skillings.
It was replaced by the Norwegian krone when Norway joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union. An equal valued krone/krona of the monetary union replaced the three currencies at the rate of 1 krone/krona = 1⁄2 Danish rigsdaler = 1⁄4 Norwegian speciedaler = 1 Swedish riksdaler.
In 1816, coins in circulation from the previous currency remained in circulation, with only 1 skilling coins being minted. A new coinage was introduced in 1819, consisting of copper 1 and 2 skilling and silver 8 and 24 skilling, 1⁄2 and 1 specidaler. Silver 2 and 4 skilling coins were introduced in 1825, followed by copper 1⁄2 skilling pieces in 1839, silver 12 skilling in 1845 and silver 3 skilling in 1868. It was made out of Iron.
Norges Bank began issuing notes in 1817, with denominations of 24 skilling, 1⁄2, 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 speciedaler.
A thaler is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A thaler size silver coin has a diameter of about 40 mm and a weight of about 25 to 30 grams. The word is shortened from Joachimsthaler, the original thaler coin minted in Joachimstal, Bohemia, from 1520.
The krone, plural kroner, is currency of the Kingdom of Norway. Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 øre, although the last coins denominated in øre were withdrawn in 2012.
The króna[ˈkʰrouːna] or krona is the currency of Iceland. Iceland is the second-smallest country by population, after the Seychelles, to have its own currency and monetary policy.
The svenska riksdaler was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar, was named after the German Thaler. The similarly named Reichsthaler, rijksdaalder, and rigsdaler were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, the Netherlands, and Denmark-Norway, respectively. Riksdaler is still used as a colloquial term for Sweden's modern-day currency.
The krone is the official currency of Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, introduced on 1 January 1875. Both the ISO code "DKK" and currency sign "kr." are in common use; the former precedes the value, the latter in some contexts follows it. The currency is sometimes referred to as the Danish crown in English, since krone literally means crown. Historically, krone coins have been minted in Denmark since the 17th century.
The Scandinavian Monetary Union was a monetary union formed by Denmark and Sweden on 5 May 1873, with Norway joining in 1875. It established a common currency unit, the krone/krona, based on the gold standard. It was one of the few tangible results of the Scandinavian political movement of the 19th century. The union ended during World War I.
The krone was the official currency of Austria-Hungary from 1892 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918. The subunit was one hundredth of the main unit, and was called a Heller in the Austrian and a fillér in the Hungarian part of the Empire.
The króna is the currency of the Faroe Islands. It is issued by Danmarks Nationalbank, the central bank of Denmark. It is not a separate currency, but is rather a local issue of banknotes denominated in the Danish krone, although Danish-issued coins are still used. Consequently, it does not have an ISO 4217 currency code and instead shares that of the Danish krone, DKK. This means that in the Faroe Islands, credit cards are charged in Danish kroner. The króna is subdivided into 100 oyru(r).
The Reichsthaler, or more specifically the Reichsthaler specie, was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the next 300 years, and containing 25–26 grams fine silver.
The rigsdaler was the name of several currencies used in Denmark until 1875. The similarly named Reichsthaler, riksdaler and rijksdaalder were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively. These currencies were often anglicized as rix-dollar or rixdollar.
The skilling was the Scandinavian equivalent of the shilling. It was used as a subdivision of the various kinds of currencies named rigsdaler in use throughout Scandinavia, including the Danish rigsdaler, the Norwegian rigsdaler, and the Swedish riksdaler.
The gulden was the currency of the lands of the House of Habsburg between 1754 and 1892, when it was replaced by the Austro-Hungarian krone as part of the introduction of the gold standard. In Austria, the gulden was initially divided into 60 kreuzers. The currency was decimalized in 1857, using the same names for the unit and subunit.
The Hamburg Mark refers to two distinct currencies issued in the city of Hamburg until 1875:
The daler was the currency of the Danish West Indies between 1849 and 1917, and of the United States Virgin Islands between 1917 and 1934.
The rigsdaler was the currency of the Danish West Indies until 1849. It was subdivided into 96 skilling. The rigsdaler was equal to 4⁄5 Danish rigsdaler. The rigsdaler was replaced by the daler.
The rigsdaler was the currency of Greenland until 1874. It was equal to the Danish rigsdaler which circulated in Greenland alongside distinct banknotes from 1803.
The Greenlandic krone was a planned currency for Greenland, plans of which were abandoned in 2009. The same name is often used for currency issued during Greenland's time as a Danish colony. The name krone is derived from the Danish krone, introduced in an 1873 currency reform that replaced Danish mark and skilling.
The North German thaler was a currency used by several states of Northern Germany from 1690 to 1873, first under the Holy Roman Empire, then by the German Confederation. Originally equal to the Reichsthaler specie or silver coin from 1566 until the Kipper und Wipper crisis of 1618, a thaler currency unit worth less than the Reichsthaler specie was first defined in 1667 and became widely used after adoption of the Leipzig currency standard of 1690.
The Speciesthaler, also Speciestaler or Speziestaler, was a type of silver specie coin that was widespread from the 17th to the 19th century and was based on the 9-Thaler standard of the original Reichsthaler. In Scandinavian sources the term Speciesdaler is used and, in German sources, the abbreviation Species was also common.
The schilling was the name of a coin in various historical European states and which gave its name to the English shilling. The schilling was a former currency in many of the German-speaking states of the Holy Roman Empire, including the Hanseatic city states of Hamburg and Lübeck, the March of Brandenburg, and the Duchies of Bavaria, Mecklenburg, and Württemberg. It was also used in Switzerland and in Austria, where silver schillings were introduced as recently as 1923.
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