Icelandic Krona (ISK) Profile

Currency name
Currency code
Currency symbol

Kr

Subunit
1/100, eyrir (obsolete,  plural: aurar)
Coins freq used
1 kr, 5 kr, 10 kr, 50 kr, 100 kr
Coins rarely used
 
Banknotes freq used
500 kr, 1000 kr, 2000 kr, 5000 kr
Banknotes rarely used
 
Central bank
Central Bank of Iceland (www.sedlabanki.is)
Currency users
Currency user list

Icelandic Krona Users

Icelandic Krona is the currency of Iceland, which is one of the five Nordic countries. The Nordic European countries consist of the three Scandinavian countries, including the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, two republics of Iceland and Finland, and their associated territories of the Faroe Islands (Denmark), Greenland (Denmark), and Åland (Finland). Among them, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark are the member states of the European Union (EU), and only Finland has adopted the euro.

Iceland is not a member of the European Union, while the idea to adopt the euro has been considered by Icelanders since 2007, especially after the 2008 financial crisis.

Icelandic Krona Coins and Banknotes

Icelandic Krona was historically subdivided into 100 aurar (singular: eyrir), but this subunit has been discontinued. As a consequence, the originally introduced coins of 5, 10, and 50 aurar are no longer accepted by Icelandic banks. The Icelandic Krona coins currently in circulation are 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 kronur. Banknotes of 100 kronur or less (10 and 50 kronur) have been withdrawn, and now the denominations of banknotes in circulation remain 500, 1000, 2000, and 5000 kronur.

Icelandic Krona History

The Icelandic Krona was established in 1918 when the Scandinavian Monetary Union dissolved, and Icelandic autonomy separated from Denmark.

Iceland used to be a Norwegian dependency during the time of Denmark-Norway (1536-1814) and became a Danish dependency in 1814 when Denmark-Norway broke up into separate kingdoms of Denmark and Norway.

In 1874, the Danish Krona was introduced into Iceland and replaced the legacy currency of the Danish rigsdaler as a result of the Scandinavian Monetary Union that had been established. The Icelandic Krona is a derivative of the Danish krone.

The first Icelandic Krona banknotes were issued in 1885, and the first coins were introduced in 1922. ISK is the new Krona of Icelandic Krona, which replaced the old kronur (ISJ) with 1 ISK = 100 ISJ in 1981.

Icelandic Krona and the Currency of Crown

In English, the Icelandic Krona is sometimes referred to as the Icelandic Crown, which is sometimes used in the financial markets. The Crown is a currency used in six European countries and their dependencies and dominions, and crown names vary because of these countries' official language.

Crown currencies currently in circulation
Countries Currency name Code Subunit Introduced since
Czech Republic Czech koruna CZK 1/100 = Haléru 1993
Denmark
(and Greenland, Faroe Islands)
Danish krone DKK 1/100 = Øre 1875
Iceland Icelandic krona ISK 1/100 = Eyrir (obsolete) 1874
Norway and 4 dependencies Norwegian krone NOK 1/100 = øre 1873
Sweden Swedish krona SEK 1/100 = ören (discontinued) 1873