The National Bank of Denmark have released new commemorative silver coins on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Her Majesty, Queen Margrethe II which was celebrated on the 16th April. There is a long tradition of the National Bank and the Danish Royal Mint releasing commemorative coins to mark Royal events. This is the sixth coin which celebrates Queen Margrethe II’s birthday. The first coin in fact was issued when she was Heir Presumptive in 1958 on the occasion of her 18th birthday.
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Queen Margrethe II succeeded to the Danish throne in 1972 at the age of 31 as the eldest daughter of King Frederik IX and Princess Ingrid of Sweden. As such, the Queen is now the longest reigning Scandinavian Monarch with Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustav reigning from 1973 and King Harald V succeeding to the Norwegian throne in 1991. The-then Princess Margrethe was given the designation of heir presumptive in 1953 after the Danish government and the Royal family recognised female succession to the throne and an amendment to the Danish constitution was added. Had this change not been instituted, Denmark’s throne would have been inherited by her uncle, the one-time Crown Prince Knud, younger brother of her father or a male cousin, perhaps one of the Prince’s two sons.
The coins are produced by the Mint of Finland at their facilities in Vantaa and under license by the Royal Danish Mint on behalf of the National Bank. The obverse side is designed by sculptor Lis Nogel whose new commemorative effigy depicts the Queen in profile, facing right. Along the rim is the inscription ‘MARGRETHE II DANMARKS DRONNING’ (Margrethe II Queen of Denmark) and a heart mintmark, the mark for the Royal Danish Mint. The reverse shows a motif based on symbols referring to the Queen’s motto adopted at the time of her accession and her artistic work in theatrical and commercial costume design. Created by graphic designer Jeanette Skov Jensen, she has depicted a heart encircled by 12 pairs of scissors. The motto is reflected in the heart that represents the people’s love and in the circle symbolising Denmark’s strength. The scissor blades also form the letter M – for Margrethe. Above the primary design are the commemorative years “1940” and “2020” with the face value of the silver coins “500 KRONER” placed below.
The commemorative coins are available in pure silver in proof quality. A smaller non-precious metal coins with a face value of “20 Kroner” are also available.
The author, Michael Alexander, is president of the London Banknote and Monetary Research Centre.
For more information on the coins, please go to the website of the Royal Danish Mint.
More on the Queen you can learn from the official website of the Danish Royal House.
Can you imagine royal highnesses stepping out of a bus (!) when attending a royal birthday dinner? In Scandinavia that’s possible! Watch this video on the guest arriving at Christiansborg Palace to Queen Margrethe’s II 75th birthday dinner.