Danish Krone (DKK) Profile

Danish krone users

The Danish Krone is the official currency of Denmark (officially the Kingdom of Denmark), Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. Both Greenland and the Faroe Islands are autonomous countries within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Denmark is a Nordic country. 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 Aland (Finland). Among them, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark are member states of the European Union (EU), and only Finland has adopted the euro.

Denmark obtained a Eurozone participation Opt-out; hence, Denmark is not obliged to replace the Danish krone with the euro. The Danish krone is part of the ERM-II mechanism, so its exchange rate is pegged with the euro within the fluctuation band of ±15% (de facto 0.5%).

Greenland has been an autonomous part of Denmark since 1979. It is the world's biggest island, located in the continent of North America but has been associated with Europe politically and culturally for centuries. The Danish Krone has been the official currency of Greenland since 1875. Greenland has planned to produce a distinct Greenlandic version of the Danish krone. Similar to the relationship between the Faroese krona and the Danish krone, the Greenlandic krone will also use the same ISO 4217 code as the Danish krone, which is DKK. Greenland withdrew from the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Union (EU) in 1985.

The Faroe Islands have been an autonomous part of Denmark since 1948; however, they are not part of the European Union (EU). The Faroe Islands use the Faroese krona as their official currency, while the Danish krone is widely accepted. The Faroese krona is officially the same currency as the Danish krone. It is a version of the Danish krone and is pegged with the Danish krone at par. Faroese krona banknotes are printed with Faroese motifs but share the same Danish krone ISO 4217 code of "DKK" and use the same sizes, standards, and elements of security features as Danish krone coins and banknotes. Faroese krona is issued by the Danish National Bank and can be exchanged with Danish kroner free of charge. However, only very few Danish stores will accept Faroese notes. As a result, the Faroe Islands people are often advised to exchange their Faroese krona cash to Danish krone if they are traveling to Denmark.

Danish krone history

Denmark, Sweden, and Norway used to be members of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which was formed in 1873 and lasted until World War I. The union provided a free circulation of the monetary. The three legacy currencies were replaced by an equally valued krone/krona at the rate of 1 krone/krona = 1 Swedish riksdaler = ½ Danish rigsdaler = ¼ Norwegian speciedaler.

Denmark became a European Union (EU) member in 1973, while both the Faroe Islands and Greenland decided not to join the EU.

Denmark is one of the eight earliest members of the European Economic Community (EEC) and established the European Monetary System (EMS) along with the other seven members in 1979. The Danish krone is part of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM-II), so its rate is pegged to the euro. However, Denmark has not introduced the euro since Danish people rejected the euro by referendum in 2000 and 2002.

Danish krone coins and banknotes

One Danish krone is subdivided into 100 øre. Due to inflation, the 50-øre coins are the smallest denomination now in circulation.

The designs of Danish krone coins are easily distinguishable from each other. There are six denominations of the krone coins and are grouped into three sequences. The 50-øre is one sequence, while the 1-, 2-, and 5-krone coins are the second sequence. The highest denomination coins of 10- and 20-krone are the third sequence. The three sequences each have its own metal color, size, weight, and rim, and even the kr1, kr2, kr5 coins have a hole in the middle. Take the example of color difference, from smallest to highest denominations, three sequences coins are bronze, silver, and golden.

Danish krone and the currency of crown

In English, the Danish krone is sometimes referred to as the Danish crown. The crown is a currency used in six European countries and their dependencies and dominions, and the crown names vary because of these countries' official languages.