A cute coin with an historic heart

Denmark

Map showing Denmark (dark green) in the EU (light green) in Europe (dark grey). From Wikipedia

Last time I looked at Denmark (for an 1830s coin), the country wasn’t doing so well financially. The early-mid 1800s in the country were marked by conflict with Germany, particularly over Schleswig-Holstein. Denmark lost Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenberg in the second Schleswig-Holstein war. They did regain Schleswig in 1920 following Germany’s defeat in WWI. Industrialisation and social welfare both increased in the interwar period. Occupied by Nazi forces during WWI, the country recovered, becoming a large exporter in the mid-20th century. Danish design goods and furniture were popular around the world along with Danish bacon, butter, and other agricultural products.

Denmark’s monarchy has continued unbroken and remains one of the world’s oldest monarchies. King Frederick VI was monarch for the previous, 1838 Danish coin I posted. Since then, the country has had:

• Frederick VI (1808-1839)
• Christian VIII (1839-1848)
• Frederick VII (1848-1863)
• Christian IX (1863-1906)
• Frederick VIII (1906-1912)
• Christian X (1912-1947)
• Frederick IX (1947-1972)
• Margrethe II (1972-2024)
• Frederik X (2024-Present)

For the time of today’s coin – 1990 – Margrethe II was queen.

Obverse

The obverse contains “The crown of Christian V (1646-1699) dividing the date above” with the country name “DANMARK” below.

“When Christian V took to the throne as the first absolute king, in 1670, he wore the crown of the absolute monarchy. Christian IV’s crown had been placed in the Treasury. Using the gold from the arches that had been removed from Christian IV’s crown, Court Jeweller Paul Kurtz created a new crown.”

(King Christian V’s crown, from denkongeligesamling.dk).

The crown contains over two kilos of gold and precious stones (two large sapphires, two large garnets and about 2,600 diamonds). The stone at the top of the cross is a corundum. A red corundum is called a ruby, while a blue one is called a sapphire. The corundum on the crown is a rare combination of both: a blue stone with a red stripe.

After the introduction of the Danish Constitutions and constitutional monarchy, in 1849, Danish monarchs are neither crowned nor anointed.

Reverse

The reverse contains “the face value with the heart of the Royal Mint above”. This particular coin has been minted from 1989 – 2023 (I’m not sure if it stopped after 2023, or if its Numista entry just hasn’t been updated? Please let me know! Another interesting point about this 21.5mm, 4.3g bronze coin, is that it’s the ONLY 50 Øre coin Denmark have produced. Denmark produced 25 Øre coins from 1874 and 1 Krone (worth 100 Øre) coins from 1875, but didn’t have anything between until 1989. I’d be curious to hear from anyone who might know the reasons for the introduction of this coin at that time? I know there was an overhaul of the coinage in 1989 which led to the introduction of this coin (and new designs for other coins), but a new denomination for a country is always an interesting thing.

The heart

“The official mint mark of the Royal Danish Mint in Copenhagen is a heart and can be found on ore and kroner coins after 1980. Historically hearts have also appeared on the royal coat of arms.

Woven heart baskets are one of the more common iterations in Denmark today. Even Hans Christian Anderson, the famous Danish author, made the woven heart baskets during the holidays, decorating homes and Christmas trees with beautiful designs made with bright colored paper. Sometimes they are filled with small gifts or candy.”

“Since the introduction of the krone coin in 1875, all Danish coins have been embossed with a heart. The use of the heart dates back to 1690, when it was the private mark of the mint master. It was used until 1749, followed by a period without any particular mint mark on the Danish coins. In 1875, the heart was again used on the coins on the introduction of the new currency system with kroner and øre replacing rigsdaler and skilling.”

What is your favourite mintmark? I think mine would have to be this heart! Let us know below!