Danish Krone Banknotes: Danmarks Nationalbank Series from 1818 to the Bridge Notes
Denmark has just finished the largest banknote recall in its modern history. Four whole series and the 1000-krone note were called in, the exchange window closed on 31 May 2026, and a new series is being prepared for 2028 and 2029. That turns a quiet Nordic country into one of the most interesting places in Europe for a collector right now.
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Last updated: September 2026
Denmark uses the krone, and every Danish banknote since 1818 has come from Danmarks Nationalbank, which holds the sole right to issue them. The notes in circulation today are the 2009 series of bridges and archaeological finds. The 1944, 1952, 1972 and 1997 series and the 1000-krone note were withdrawn, and their exchange window closed on 31 May 2026.
What banknotes does Denmark use today?
Denmark uses the 2009 series, themed on Danish bridges and archaeological finds and designed by the artist Karin Birgitte Lund. Four denominations circulate: 50, 100, 200 and 500 kroner. The 1000-krone note belonged to the same series but was withdrawn, leaving the 500 as the largest Danish note.
Each denomination pairs a bridge with an object dug out of Danish ground: Sallingsund Bridge with the Skarpsalling Pot on the 50 of 2009, the Old Little Belt Bridge with the Hindsgavl Dagger on the 100 of 2010, Knippelsbro with the Langstrup belt plate on the 200 of 2010, and Dronning Alexandrines Bro with the Keldby bronze bucket on the 500 of 2011 (Danmarks Nationalbank, Danish banknotes today).
There is a second, quieter version of the same series. Danmarks Nationalbank has been rolling out a security-upgraded 2009A printing note by note: the 500-krone in November 2020, the 100 and 200-krone in February 2024, and the 50-krone, which the bank's banknote page says goes into circulation from February 2026 onwards. The 1000-krone note is the only denomination of the series that was never upgraded (Danmarks Nationalbank, 29 February 2024). Danish wallets therefore hold two printings of one design, a situation our page on the banknote design process explains.
When was Danmarks Nationalbank founded, and what were its first notes?
Danmarks Nationalbank was established in 1818 and granted a monopoly on issuing banknotes in Denmark. It issued its own first banknotes the following year, in 1819, denominated in rigsbankdaler. It has been the only institution in Denmark allowed to issue banknotes ever since.
The reason for founding it is written into Danish price history. When Denmark was drawn into the Napoleonic Wars on the French side, the King let the banknote printing press run to finance the war, inflation ran in excess of 300 per cent in 1813, and citizens lost confidence in the money. The bank was established to restore order and trust in the system (Danmarks Nationalbank, historical banknotes).
Danish paper money is older than the bank. The first Danish banknotes were issued between 1713 and 1728, when the cost of armaments during the Great Northern War drove coins abroad and authorised banknotes were issued to keep money circulating. Danes had no confidence in them and the notes were withdrawn again in 1728. The bank places that in a longer chain, noting that the first European banknotes were issued by the Swedish Riksbank in 1661, the story our page on the first banknotes in Europe follows.
The first Danmarks Nationalbank notes were not pocket money. The largest note in the 1819 series was 100 rigsbankdaler, which the bank describes as half the annual salary of one of its own tellers, or a whole year's pay for a manual labourer in Odense. Even the 1 rigsbankdaler note was worth a few days' pay, so the notes served large transactions, credit settlement and savings while coins did the daily shopping (Danmarks Nationalbank, historical banknotes).
What are the older Danish banknote series?
Four series sit between the war and the present one: 1944 the substitution series, 1952 portraits and landscapes, 1972 portraits and animals, and 1997 portraits and church art. All four were recalled together, so collectors now treat them as a single block.
1944, the substitution series
This is the most dramatic of the four. The series was secretly developed in 1943 and 1944 and used for the money changeover in 1945, immediately after the end of the Second World War, with the faces of most notes designed by the painter and illustrator Gerhard Heilmann. Denominations ran 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 kroner, and the motifs are decorative rather than figurative: interwoven fives on the 5, a boat with fishermen on the 50, seaweed surrounded by dolphins on the 100, a farmer behind a horse-drawn plough on the 500 (Danmarks Nationalbank banknote compendium, 2026). Our page on wartime occupation and military currency covers secretly printed changeover money elsewhere.
1952, portraits and landscapes
The 1952 designs came from a collaboration between the architect and graphic artist Gunnar Biilmann Petersen, Danmarks Nationalbank's illustrator Gunnar Andersen and the illustrator and architect Ib Andersen. Famous Danes went on the front and landscapes on the back: Bertel Thorvaldsen and the Church of Our Lady in Kalundborg on the 5, Hans Christian Andersen and Egeskov Windmill on the 10, Ole Rømer and the Stenvad long barrow on the 50, H.C. Ørsted and Kronborg on the 100, and the agricultural reformer C.D.F. Reventlow with Roskilde Cathedral on the 500.
1972, portraits and animals
The 1972 series is the one specialists chase. The portraits were engraved from paintings by the Danish artist Jens Juel, and the animals on the reverse came from watercolours and drawings by Ib Andersen and Gunnar Andersen. Five of the six denominations carry a woman: Cathrine Sophie Kirchhoff on the 10, Pauline Tutein on the 20, Engelke Charlotte Ryberg on the 50, an unknown woman, probably Franziska Genoveva von Qualen, on the 500, and Thomasine Heiberg on the 1000. Only the 100 breaks the pattern, with Juel's self-portrait. The reverses are a small natural history cabinet: queen eider, sparrows, crucian carp, a red underwing moth, a lizard and a squirrel. See women on banknotes and animals on banknotes.
1997, portraits and church art
The last series before the bridges was designed by Danmarks Nationalbank's illustrator Johan Alkjær, with Danish artists and scientists on the front and church art on the back: Karen Blixen and a centaur from Landet Church on Tåsinge, Carl Nielsen and a basilisk from Tømmerby Church, the actress Johanne Luise Heiberg and a lion from the apse at Viborg Cathedral, Niels Bohr and a knight and dragon from the font in Lihme Church, and the painters Anna and Michael Ancher with a tournament scene from Bislev Church.
Danish banknote series at a glance
Series, years, denominations and motifs below are taken from Danmarks Nationalbank's own banknote compendium and its current banknote pages. The status column reflects where each series stood in September 2026.
| Series | Years of issue | Denominations | Motifs | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1819 and 1834 | From 1819 | Rigsbankdaler, later rigsdaler | Cartouches, arabesques and coats of arms; the 100 rigsbankdaler of 1834 was the first Danish note printed on both sides, with Mercury, Neptune, Minerva and Ceres | Collector material only |
| 1944, the substitution series | Issued 1945 to 1947 | 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 kroner | Interwoven fives, seaweed, a boat with fishermen, dolphins, a farmer behind a horse-drawn plough; faces mostly by Gerhard Heilmann | Recalled; exchange window closed 31 May 2026 |
| 1952, portraits and landscapes | 1952 to 1964 | 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 kroner | Thorvaldsen, Hans Christian Andersen, Ole Rømer, H.C. Ørsted, C.D.F. Reventlow; Danish landscapes and buildings on the reverses | Recalled; exchange window closed 31 May 2026 |
| 1972, portraits and animals | 1974 to 1980, 100 kroner upgraded 1995 | 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000 kroner | Portraits after Jens Juel; queen eider, sparrows, crucian carp, red underwing moth, lizard, squirrel | Recalled; exchange window closed 31 May 2026 |
| 1997, portraits and church art | 1997 to 2005 | 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 kroner | Karen Blixen, Carl Nielsen, Johanne Luise Heiberg, Niels Bohr, Anna and Michael Ancher; church art by Johan Alkjær | Recalled; exchange window closed 31 May 2026 |
| 2009, bridges and archaeological finds | 2009 to 2011, upgraded 2009A printings from 2020 | 50, 100, 200, 500 kroner; 1000 kroner withdrawn | Sallingsund Bridge and Skarpsalling Pot; Old Little Belt Bridge and Hindsgavl Dagger; Knippelsbro and Langstrup belt plate; Dronning Alexandrines Bro and the Keldby bronze bucket; Great Belt Bridge and the Sun Chariot on the 1000 | Current; valid until the new series launches in 2028 |
Why did Denmark withdraw the 1000-krone note and the older series?
Danmarks Nationalbank announced the decision on 30 November 2023, in the same statement that set out plans for a new banknote series in 2028 and 2029. Banknotes issued before 2009 and the 1000-krone note were both to be phased out ahead of it, and the reasons given were about how Danes actually pay.
The bank put numbers on it. Cash is used for approximately 10 per cent of payments in physical stores, and 90 per cent of cash payments in stores are for less than DKK 500, which makes a 1000-krone note hard to justify. The bank added that the note is, to a greater extent than other banknotes, used in connection with various types of financial crime, and that older banknotes no longer meet today's standards, with shop staff often reluctant to accept denominations they do not recognise (Danmarks Nationalbank, 30 November 2023).
Denmark therefore did in one move what several countries have done piecemeal: retire a high denomination and clear out legacy paper at the same time. Our pages on what demonetization is and demonetization events of the 21st century set the Danish decision beside the others, and Switzerland is the sharpest contrast, having kept a very high denomination while Denmark dropped one.
What happened at the 2025 and 2026 deadlines?
The recall ran in two phases. The 1000-krone note and the 1944, 1952, 1972 and 1997 series stopped being a valid means of payment after 31 May 2025. From 1 June 2025 they could be handed in only at Danmarks Nationalbank's three banknote exchange points, in Odense, Aarhus and Copenhagen, and that window closed on 31 May 2026.
By the first deadline around kr. 20.5 billion had come back: kr. 19.7 billion in 1000-krone notes, about 93 per cent of those in circulation, and kr. 873 million in older series, about 26 per cent of the total recalled from them (Danmarks Nationalbank, 2025).
The final tally came on 1 June 2026. More than kr. 21.2 billion had been exchanged, 87 per cent of the kr. 24.5 billion recalled, leaving about kr. 3.3 billion outstanding: kr. 0.9 billion in 1000-krone notes and kr. 2.4 billion in older series. Those notes can no longer be exchanged. The bank's explanation for the gap is one collectors will recognise, that the older banknotes have not been in general circulation for several decades and many will have been lost or have deteriorated over time (Danmarks Nationalbank, 1 June 2026).
Read that gap as a supply figure. Roughly kr. 2.4 billion of pre-2009 Danish notes never came back, and much of what survives sits in drawers, albums and estates rather than bank vaults. With the exchange window closed, no more of the four recalled series will reach collectors from the bank, so what is already in private hands is the whole supply. Our page on currencies that no longer exist tracks the same effect elsewhere.
What will the next Danish banknote series look like?
Nobody outside the bank knows yet, and that is deliberate. Danmarks Nationalbank said on 30 November 2023 that it plans to launch the new banknotes in 2028 and 2029, and that citizens will be consulted about the themes and motifs. No theme was announced with the plan.
What we do know is the transition rule. Both the 2009 and the 2009A printings stay valid until the new series launches in 2028, so the bridge notes are not going anywhere yet. Denmark has a settled habit of building each series around one national theme, from portraits and landscapes to portraits and animals to bridges and archaeological finds, so a themed brief is the safe expectation.
For collectors the practical point is timing. Crisp, uncirculated examples of a series are easiest to find while it is still being issued, so anyone who wants the bridge notes in high grade, including the 2009A printings that will be the family's last, has until the 2028 launch to pull them from circulation.
What are old Danish banknotes worth?
Danish notes sit in the middle of the European market: not scarce as a class, but with real premiums on the right denomination in the right grade. The top value of each series does most of the work, because high-denomination notes were used carefully, banked quickly and rarely saved uncirculated.
The 1972 series 1000-krone note, catalogued as Pick 53, shows the shape of it. It carries the Thomasine Heiberg portrait after Jens Juel with a red squirrel on the reverse, and the catalog quotes the printings from 1972 to 1986 at roughly $230 to $300 in Very Fine 20 and $270 to $600 in Uncirculated 60, depending on the printing letter (PMG World Paper Money Price Guide, read September 2026). Lower denominations of the same series are a fraction of that.
Two Danish factors move a price. One is the printing year, because Danish notes carry a year and a prefix and the catalog splits them accordingly, so two visually identical notes can be catalogued apart. The other is the recall, which has closed the pre-2009 supply for good. Our guides to Pick numbers and what determines banknote value explain how to read a catalog entry. Catalog values are a reference point, not a quote.
How do you start collecting Danish banknotes?
Pick one series and complete it. Danish series are short, each has a clear design theme, and the issuing bank publishes the motifs, formats and issue years for every denomination, so you can plan a set instead of buying at random.
The 1997 series is the beginner's target: five notes, one illustrator, portraits everyone can name, and plenty of high-grade survivors. The 1972 series is the collector's set, because the Jens Juel portraits and animal reverses make it the most distinctive programme Denmark has produced, with the 1000-krone note as a genuine key. The 1944 substitution series is the historian's choice.
Learn the grading ladder before you spend. Grades run from Uncirculated down through AU, XF, VF, F, VG and G, and the certified market uses a 1 to 70 scale: see our banknote grading guide and graded versus raw banknotes. How to store banknotes matters here, because the older Danish notes are large and were often folded.
Where can you buy Danish banknotes?
Buy from an established dealer that authenticates every note, documents where it came from, and stands behind it in writing. Prices far below every other seller, vague sourcing and no returns are the signals to walk away from.
Planet Banknote sources notes direct from mints, central banks and authorized distributors rather than reselling anonymous lots. Browse the current selection through the banknotes by country directory, where availability changes with what has been sourced, and see third-party certified pieces in the graded banknotes selection. Our guide to buying world banknotes safely and how to collect world banknotes cover the rest.
Planet Banknote is a family-owned dealership in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 2021. Every note is sourced direct from mints, central banks, and authorized distributors, inspected through our Planet Banknote Verified process, and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity. US orders ship free via USPS Priority, and every order includes a free bonus gift.
Frequently asked questions
Which Danish banknotes are still valid?
The 2009 series of bridges and archaeological finds, in denominations of 50, 100, 200 and 500 kroner, together with the security-upgraded 2009A printings of the same designs. Danmarks Nationalbank says both the 2009 and 2009A series remain valid means of payment until the launch of the new banknote series in 2028. The 1000-krone note was withdrawn.
When did Denmark withdraw the 1000-krone note?
The 1000-krone note from the 2009 series stopped being a valid means of payment after 31 May 2025, together with banknotes from the 1944, 1952, 1972 and 1997 series. Danmarks Nationalbank announced the phase-out on 30 November 2023, alongside its plan for a new banknote series in 2028 and 2029.
Can you still exchange old Danish banknotes?
No. After the 31 May 2025 deadline the recalled notes could be handed in only at Danmarks Nationalbank's exchange points in Odense, Aarhus and Copenhagen, and that second window closed on 31 May 2026. The bank reported on 1 June 2026 that the recall had ended and the notes can no longer be exchanged.
Why did Denmark withdraw its older banknotes?
Danmarks Nationalbank said cash is used for approximately 10 per cent of payments in physical stores and that 90 per cent of cash payments in stores are under DKK 500. It added that the 1000-krone note is, to a greater extent than other banknotes, used in connection with various types of financial crime, and that older notes no longer meet today's standards.
When was Danmarks Nationalbank founded?
In 1818. It was established after the Napoleonic Wars, when the King allowed the printing press to run to finance war costs and inflation ran in excess of 300 per cent in 1813. Danmarks Nationalbank was granted a monopoly on issuing banknotes in Denmark and issued its own first banknotes in 1819, denominated in rigsbankdaler.
What is on the 1972 Danish banknote series?
Portraits engraved from paintings by Jens Juel on the front and animals on the back. The denominations run 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 kroner, showing Cathrine Sophie Kirchhoff, Pauline Tutein, Engelke Charlotte Ryberg, Jens Juel's self-portrait, an unknown woman probably Franziska Genoveva von Qualen, and Thomasine Heiberg, paired with a queen eider, sparrows, a crucian carp, a moth, a lizard and a squirrel.
What will the next Danish banknote series be?
Danmarks Nationalbank plans to launch a new series in 2028 and 2029 and said in its announcement of 30 November 2023 that citizens will also be consulted about the themes and motifs. No theme was published with the plan. Until that launch, the 2009 and 2009A bridge notes remain valid.