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NEW BOOK: NORWEGIAN BANKNOTESHere's an article from Geldscheine Online about a new book listing varieties of Norwegian banknotes. The article, originally written in German, was translated to English via ChatGPT. -Garrett
Norske Pengesedler (Norwegian Banknotes)
What "Grabowski" is for German paper money, the catalog by Karl Saethre is for Norway – the standard reference work for collectors of Norwegian banknotes. This comprehensive, high-quality catalog is now available in its 26th, once again expanded, edition. Interest in Norwegian paper money is particularly strong among Norwegian collectors, as evidenced by recent auction results from Norwegian auction houses such as Skanfil, Roschberg, and Oslo Myntgalleri. The issuance of paper money in Norway, which until 1814 was in a personal union with Denmark and governed from Copenhagen, began in August 1695 by the merchant Jørgen Thor Møhlen in Bergen. This venture ended in financial failure the following year. In 1713, banknotes were issued in Copenhagen by royal decree and circulated in Norway, but were declared worthless in 1717. Further issues valid in Norway followed from 1737 onward. The catalog lists the Danish-Norwegian banknotes up to 1814, followed by notes denominated in *skilling* and *speciedaler* issued by Norges Bank, founded after Norway's independence, from 1817 to 1877. Afterward, it covers banknotes denominated in kroner issued by Norges Bank from 1877 onwards. Many older notes are depicted in color, front and back, even though only a few examples are known to exist in collections and most collectors will likely never encounter such a piece in person. The second series of banknotes from 1901 in denominations from 5 to 1000 kroner remained largely unchanged in circulation until the currency reform in September 1945. However, this series includes variants in terms of signatures, paper, and control numbers, all of which are individually listed and valued in the catalog. Also noted is the print quantity per series, which for the 500 and 1000 kroner denominations of the pre-war and wartime issues often numbered only a few tens of thousands of pieces. This explains why these notes are rare today and highly sought after by collectors. Since 1945, Norges Bank has issued six more series of banknotes, which are also listed and valued in detail. Norges Bank's own banknote printing facility was closed in 2007. Since then, Norwegian banknotes have been printed abroad by security printers, which has led to variants—for example, in the 7th series from 1994 to 2015. A dedicated section of the catalog covers vouchers issued on Spitsbergen by Norwegian, Russian, American, and Swedish mining companies to their employees. These have been recorded and cataloged as far as is currently known. The early issues by the Russian mining company Arktikugol are especially rare but have been comprehensively cataloged and richly illustrated thanks to references to several specialized collections in Russia and the USA. Each issuing company on Spitsbergen is introduced with a brief historical overview. A separate chapter is also dedicated to the emergency money issues of 1940, which were intended to alleviate the temporary cash shortage following the German invasion. The valuations (in Norwegian kroner; 1 euro currently equals approx. 11.60 NOK) in various grades of preservation reflect the dynamics of the Norwegian collector market and the continued interest, especially in early issues of Norges Bank. A large part of the catalog is written in both Norwegian and English, which facilitates its use. It would have been desirable for the introductory section on Norwegian banknotes at the beginning of the catalog to also be available in English. Interested readers may need to rely on a translation app for that part. The catalog encourages deeper engagement with Norwegian banknotes. Anyone who already collects in this field will not be able to avoid Saethre's catalog. Dr. Sven Gerhard The book came out a few years ago, but we hadn't covered it yet. Looks like a great resource. -Editor
To read the complete article, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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