Krone is the name of the currency used in Norway. The plural form is kroner and one krone is divided into 100 øre , singular and plural. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common abbreviation is "kr".

The introduction of the krone as the Norwegian legal tender in 1875 was a result of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which lasted until the First World War. The parties to the monetary union were the Scandinavian countries of Sweden and Denmark from the start in 1873, with Norway joining two years later. The name of the currency was Krone in Denmark and Norway, and Krona in Sweden, which in English literally means Crown. After dissolution of the monetary union Denmark, Norway and Sweden all decided to keep the name of their respective and now separate currencies.

The ten and twenty-krone coins carry the effigy of current monarch. The royal motto of the monarch (King Harald's motto is Alt for Norge, meaning Everything for Norway) is also inscribed on the ten-krone coin.

The Norwegian coins and Norwegian banknotes are distributed by the Central Bank of Norway .

Exchange rate

In 2002 the Norwegian krone kept growing stronger and stronger to record high levels compared to the dollar and the Euro. On January 2, 2002, one United States dollar was worth close to 9 Norwegian kroner. In July 2002, the United States dollar hit a low at 7.3 kroner. In addition to the high level of interest, which increased further on July 4, 2002 to 7.0 per cent, the oil price was another reason for the soaring krone. Norway was the world's third biggest oil exporter, and the ever-increasing demand for oil and gas had driven the price up, especially for the first six months of 2002.

As of 30 december 2004 the 1 USD = 6.1 NOK, 1 EUR = 8.2 NOK, 1 GBP = 11.6 NOK [1]

Coins and banknotes

Currently in circulation

• Banknotes
  • 1 000 kr
  • 500 kr
  • 200 kr
  • 100 kr
  • 50 kr
• Coins
  • 20 kr
  • 10 kr
  • 5 kr
  • 1 kr
  • 50 øre

See also

• Table of historical exchange rates

External links

• Norges Bank