Denmark’s Route to Upgraded Banknotes

Late last year Danmarks Nationalbank began the upgrade of its banknote series with a new 500 kroner, setting the scene for more advanced security features across all its banknotes.

The upgrade was prompted not because of any deficiencies in the existing notes in terms of security, but because a necessary change to the designs caused by a change in printing processes provided the perfect opportunity to improve the security features at the same time.

The Danish krone is issued in 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 denominations. The current series was introduced in 2009 and the designs are notable for their ‘Scandinavian’ style. The face of each note depicts a motif of a Danish bridge. The selected bridges represent different architectural styles and various regions of Denmark. The main motif on the reverse of each note is a prehistoric find discovered near the bridge in question.