Iceland 5000 Krónur

The króna is the official currency of Iceland since 1918 when the country separated the currency from the Danish krone.  The name króna is derived from the Latin word “crown” and the official currency symbol: kr. In 1921, the “Ríkissjóður Íslands” (The Treasury of Iceland) took over the paper money production and introduced the first banknotes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 50 krónur. In 1961, the Seðlabanki Íslands (the Central Bank of Iceland) was established as the official central bank of Iceland and introduced notes in denominations of 10, 25, 100, and 500 krónur. After a monetary reform carried out in 1981 due to the high inflation suffered by the currency, the króna was revalued. New notes were put into circulation in denominations of 10, 50, 100, and 500 krónur, followed by 1000 krónur in 1984, 5000 krónur in 1986, 2000 krónur in 1987, and a 10,000 krónur note in 2013. In 2001 a new series was introduced with substantial design changes.

The 5000 Icelandic krónur note front design features the portrait of Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir (1646–1715), who was a wealthy member of the powerful Svalbarðsætt family, on a basic tapestry pattern background and a portrait of Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir, Bishop Gísli Þorláksson (Bishop of Hólar) together with his two former wives, Gróa Þorleifsdóttir and Ingibjörg Benediktsdóttir. The reverse of the note illustrates Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir instructs two girls in the art of embroidery, on a background with posters and the basic patterns on both sides, as well as the letters embroidered on the front, are made with altar cloths from Laufáskirkja at the National Museum. The lettering on the note is presented in the Icelandic language. This note is part of the 2001 – 2009 series, and its color is blue on a multicolor underprint.

Text: FIMM ÞUSUND KRÓNUR, SAMKVÆT LÖGUM NR. 36 22. MAI 2001, SEÐLABANKI ÍSLANDS, Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir 1646 – 1715, 5000.