History of official currency in Iceland

“For more than thirty five years the Central Bank of Iceland has been responsible for the issue of all official currency in Iceland, both banknotes and coinage, at first by a special agreement with the Ministry of Finance in 1966, and then under the Currency Act of 1968. Prior to that, the Central Bank was responsible only for issuing banknotes, while coinage was under the auspices of the Treasury."

“The history of official currency in Iceland spans more than two hundred years, and the Central Bank feels it has a certain duty in this respect. For some time, the Central Bank and National Museum of Iceland have collaborated on cultivating this legacy by maintaining a special numismatic collection devoted to the preservation of domestic and foreign coins and notes and the history of Icelandic currency. The Numismatic Museum was established under a special agreement between these two bodies, endorsed by the Minister of Education and Culture in 1985, whereby the Central Bank is entrusted with its safekeeping and operation. The Museum exhibition room was opened to the general public on December 6, 1986. One area of the museum's activities is the publication of material on the history of Icelandic currency, and the present booklet is the third of this kind and now in its second edition. It contains the most detailed description of the official currency ever published, covering issues and distinguishing features as well as relevant legislation. It is hoped that the information contained in this booklet will be useful to people who are interested in the role of currency in Icelandic history, and likewise to international collectors of coins and banknotes.”

(From the preface by Birgir Ísleifur Gunnarsson, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Central Bank of Iceland, to “The Currency of Iceland – Issues and features of Icelandic notes and coins”, published by the Numismatic Collection of The Central Bank and the National Museum of Iceland in October 2002).

This booklet can be downloaded from the Central Bank of Iceland website using the link below:

The Currency of Iceland (booklet, 1.3 MB) (Myntrit 3). - Pdf-skjal, 1 MB


© 2002 Central Bank of Iceland - All rights reserved
Address: Kalkofnsvegi 1, 150 Reykjavik - E-mail: sedlabanki@sedlabanki.is
Tel.: (354) 569 9600 - Telefax: (354) 569 9605

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