– In addition to being exceptionally rare, the banknote is also of great monetary historical significance, says Michael Fornitz, chief numismatist at Bruun Rasmussen, who therefore deals with the scientific doctrine of coins.
– It is the baptismal certificate of the Danish banknotes that we are dealing with here, he explains.
The price probably surprised the auctioneer, as the note prior to the auction had been estimated to have a value of between 60,000 and 80,000 kroner.
It is not stated who bought the old banknote.
At one time it was exclusively silver and gold that were considered money in Denmark, but in 1713 King Frederik IV chose to issue paper money for the first time.
This happened as a result of the Great Nordic War, which ended up being an expensive affair for both Denmark and Norway, and which therefore subsequently required a need for extraordinary funds.
During the war, many silver coins had left the country, as Denmark had to pay for expensive foreign mercenaries, and as it was in itself expensive to extract new silver, the issuance of paper money was an obvious option.
According to Bruun Rasmussen, this exact banknote is one of the first of its kind.
In 1873, the currency rigsdaler was replaced by the current Danish krone.