Currency in Denmark

The “Danish Krone” is the currency of Denmark. Its ISO code is “DKK” and the official abbreviations are “dkr” or “kr”. The symbol for the Danish Krone is “kr”.

History of the Danish currency

The history of a Danish currency goes back to the tenth century, but today’s Danish krone and its subdivision, the Øre, spoken roughly “Öre” (100 Øre = 1 krone), were only introduced on January 1st, 1875. The Danish krone is used in Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, among others. The Danish krone also went through some ups and downs over time.

Before the Danish krone existed in its current form, the Danish currency was based on silver. However, after the introduction of the Danish Krone in 1875, the currency shifted from silver to the gold standard and based on the price of gold.

At the time of the First World War the price per kilogram of gold was 2,480 kroner. Because of the outbreak of war in 1914, the population began to exchange their cash for gold, but this did not go well for long, as the exchange was banned within the next ten years.

In 1924 a law regulating the value of the Danish krone was passed, as its value was only 60% of its pre-war value. The original value of 2,480 kroner per kilogram of gold was targeted. The goal was a ten percent increase in the value within 2 years, but the value increased by 30% within six months, which led to problems.

In 1927 it was possible to reach the prewar value of the Danish krone, but this had a negative effect on the economy in the form of deflation. From this it was concluded that the gold standard was abolished in 1931.

The notes that were introduced with a major currency reform after the Second World War are still valid today. But old notes were taken out of circulation and replaced by new notes in 1997.

In a referendum in 2000 Denmark prevented the introduction of the euro in 2002, but the Danish krone is pegged to the euro with a maximum fluctuation of 2.25%.

Exchange into Danish currency

The best way to exchange Danish kroner is in Denmark instead of Germany, as the exchange rate is disadvantageous at German banks due to the fees. Although there are enough ATMs in Denmark, it is advisable to withdraw and exchange money in larger amounts, as there are fees for each withdrawal. So it can be said that you get more for the euro in Denmark than in Germany.