Everything you wanted to know about Icelandic coins but really aren’t bothered to ask

The biggest problem with the Icelandic coins is the lack of information regarding it´s history and rarity of specific coins. But the little information that has come out from Iceland is lost in translation in European languages.

So here are some facts for those who like to read on foreign coins and history

Kingdom era (1922-1942)

2 Krónur (1925-1940)



Iceland minted its first coin in the year 1922 and most of the coins from the kingdom era are very easy to find even with it´s rarer dates and varieties like the 1929 2 Krónur (77.000 minted) and the 1925 2 Krónur (126.000 Minted) But when it comes to grades these coins are extremely hard to find in UNC BU condition. Most Icelanders at the time were poor and 2 Krónur was a large amount of money. About ¼ of the price of a sheep. So to take a 2 Krónur coin and put it in your collection was something that majority of Icelanders just couldn’t afford to do.
When you look at catalogs like Krause you will see that the 1929 2 Krónur is priced higher then it´s brother the 1925 one. That would make sense as the mintage of the 1929 is half of 1925. But from what I have gathered trough investigation and experience is that the 1925 is harder to find in BU UNC grade and only a handful are known to exist. I know of 3-5 pieces that exist in public collections but mind you I have 2 confirmed that I have seen and one is mine. Catalogs prices are not realistic. It´s understandable as few have been seen and fewer have been seen on public auctions.

1 Krónur (1925-1940)




The 1 Krónur was first minted in 1925 and these coins have the same basic rules in rarity as the 2 Krónur. The prices are off as well in catalogs. Out of hundreds of 1 krónur 1925 and 1929 I have only found one that was AU and that was a 1925 piece. This coin you can see above came from the same collection as the 2 Krónur 1925. A unknown collector had these coins and they were not known by collectors. I often said I would not collect coins from the kingdom era as they were so hard to find in BU UNC. But I was proven wrong. So the gems are still out there.

10 Aurar (1922-1942)



The 10 Aurar 1922 was the first Icelandic coin. Most early dates are hard to find in UNC BU. But particularly hard are the dates 1929-1936. One of the other interesting facts is that the coins from 1942 were minted in zinc and as most of you know that have owned coins in zink they tent do oxidise. This is no different with these Icelandic coins. And to find one that does not have this oxidization is extremely rare.

 

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Siggi,

I love your collection and your presentation is excellent. As a collector who is fanatically passionate about my collection, it is nice to see another collector with the same level of passion. My favorite of course is your 1961 500 Kronur Proof.

Bravo!

Paul

 

Excellent info as always Siggi, thanks and please do continue!

 

Looking forward to the next installment Siggi.......

 

Thanks everyone, I appriciate the kind words.

I enjoy telling storys of coins from Iceland. There are so many hidden tresures that have been left in the bottom of the chest.

Siggi

 

Update

 

Thanks for sharing Siggi. Nice pics as always! I like seeing what coins actually look like, versus the crappy images in the Krause.

 

Thanks buddy,

I have gone trough so many coins and with 99% in cerculated and crappy condition once you see that perfect one your heart just goes booom. Well at least in my case it did

 

updated

 

You know, it took me a few seconds to realize that "updated" meant that the original post was updated......LOL....need some more coffee.

Great stuff Siggi.

 

Thank you I should have pointed that out

Nothing better then a Sunday coffie. I look forward to it every day but something special about that sunday one. Piece and quiet and a day off

 

Nice.......Great photo's Siggi. I should send you my coins to photograph....Are you going to post more.

Sorry.... My Dear Friend,, I don't mean to take any of your well deserved glory...LOL. I'm adding a link to my NGC
Registry set for Iceland's Kindom Era coins. Now granted my picture's are nowhere as nice as Siggi's but I hope you
will all enjoy them as well.

http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetGallery.aspx?PeopleSetID=117411

 

Please send me them, I´m pretty sure they will be lost in transit lol

 

LOL.....I just bet they would...LOL. Better yet,, You get your butt here and take them for me....LOL

 

what does "kingdom era" mean?

 

Kingdom era is when Iceland was under the Danish King untill our independance in 1944

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Iceland

 

Iceman, You have a wonderful collection and one of the better ones known to exist

 

It means the time period when Denmark still ruled Iceland prior to its independence on June 17 1944

 

Thank you.... Siggi,,, Some of them was with your help....Which I will always be greatful for.

 

You're very wrong about one thing; the early dates sure aren't easy to find in the US in any condition at all. I didn't know they were available in Iceland though. You can find the 1940 and later coins but even these aren't seen in unc until issues from the late-'50's and later.

I might add that I expect there will be a lot of key dates among the 1957 to 1980 issues but it's difficult to know which ones since demand is very weak so prices are low. Someday all the Icelandic coinage is going to experience a great deal more demand if for no other reason that it's a very cool country with lots of history.