Denmark: National Bank announce discontinuation of Proof and Mint collector sets

Hover to zoom.

The National Bank of Denmark has made the announcement that from this year, the production of coin sets for collectors, specifically mint and Proof sets, will no longer be produced. Citing the cost of producing specimen coins for a collector market, which the National Bank reports is decreasing year by year, they have indicated that going forward, 2023 would be the last year for Mint and Proof sets. The Royal Danish Mint’s retail website that handles the sale of collector sets, coin rolls, gold and silver Proof commemorative coins, as well as circulation-type banknotes for Denmark and the Faeroe Islands, will also close from the 1st January 2024. The Royal Danish Mint opened their online shop in 2006 with a view to serving Danish and foreign coin enthusiasts and collectors. A special purpose-built minting facility located in the Copenhagen suburb of Brondby was built in 1978 and remained in use until 2012, when minting facilities were transferred to the main headquarters of the National Bank. However, citing rising currency production costs and the decrease in the use of physical money in Denmark, the National Bank announced in 2016 that the Royal Danish Mint would cease production of Danish coinage, with banknote printing being tendered out to a private security firm. The announcement was met with surprise by numismatists as it meant an end to over a thousand years of minting tradition in Denmark. The minting of Danish coinage was consigned to the Mint of Finland, and the production of Danish banknotes was contracted out to the French security printers Oberthur Fiduciaire.

Well before and after Denmark’s last monetary reform in 1873, the Royal Danish Mint established a numismatic tradition of regularly releasing commemorative silver coins. These occasions concentrated on marking milestones of the royal family, such as birthdays, weddings and accession anniversaries, as well as the succession of a new sovereign. This tradition continued into the reign of the current Queen Margrethe II, with the first commemorative coin during her reign being released in 1972. The latest commemorative silver 500-kroner coins were released in 2022 on the occasion of the Queen’s 50th anniversary of reign.

With a major change-over to circulating Danish coins beginning in 1989, the Royal Danish Mint began releasing Mint sets in specially prepared folders in 1990, and Proof sets on an annual basis from 2004, which also included special presentation sets for children beginning in 2006. In an effort to bolster coin collecting in Denmark, the Danish Royal Mint released in 2002 the first design of a new 10-coin series of circulation-type 20-kroner coins depicting various familiar tower landmarks. A second 20-kroner coin series followed depicting historical ships, which was first launched in 2007. Other series followed including 10-kroner circulation type coins honouring Hans Christian Andersen on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth. The last commemorative series of three 10-kroner coins was released on the occasion of the International Polar Year beginning in 2007 through 2009. The National Bank’s announcement included plans to continue the production of commemorative coins in connection with special occasions in the royal family, such as the sovereign’s birthdays and jubilees. The distribution and points of sale will be publicised as and when the coins are produced and released.

For further information, please visit the website of the National Bank.

To order the last Danish Mint and Proof sets, click here for the website of the Danish Royal Mint.

❑