For the first time in history, Norwegian banknotes will not feature portraits. Instead, the new notes all reflect a common theme: “The Sea”. A traditional, iconic design features on the front of the new notes, with a different maritime motif for each denomination, based on proposals from Metric Design and Terje Tønnessen. The modern, pixellated patterns on the back of the notes are built up around a grid system based on the Beaufort wind force scale, developed from Snøhetta’s proposal.
Banknotes reverse
“Norges Bank’s banknotes and coins are the community’s money, money we share, and for which we collectively act as guarantor. It is natural that they should tell a story that reflects us as a community of people, and the sea and our coastline are key dimensions in that story. And I hope that the new banknotes will act as an excellent business card for our country”, says Norwegian central bank Norges Bank governor Øystein Olsen.
Norges Bank will first put the new 50-krone, 100-krone and 200-krone notes into circulation on 30 May 2017. The other denominations will be launched in 2018 and 2019.
