New 500 krone banknote

Denmarks Nationalbank, nationalbanken already launched the new 500-krone banknote on 15 February 2011 as the fourth banknote in the new banknote series. The banknotes are designed by the artist Karin Birgitte Lund. The National Banks had been showing some pictures and videos about the release of the new banknote. The 500 krone banknote from the 1997-series will still be legal tender. All Danish banknotes issued since the substitution of money in 1945 can be exchanged at face value at Danmarks Nationalbank.

The front page of the banknote depicts the bridge Dronning Alexandrine's Bro. The bridge which links Zealand to the island of Møn is also known as the Møn Bridge and was inaugurated in 1943. Dronning Alexandrines Bro is 746 metres long and has a maximum vertical clearance of 26 metres. On the back of the 500-krone banknote show the bronze pail from Keldby on the island of Møn was unearthed by a plough near Trehøje in the period before 1826. Judging by the clearly Greek inspired ornamentation and shape, the pail could have been made in Macedonia or the Greek Black Sea colonies. The vessel is exhibited in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.

The motivation for issuing the new Danish banknote series is to improve the security features. The new banknotes have a number of advanced security features, including a hologram and a window thread with a moving wave pattern. The security features are to make it even more difficult to counterfeit the banknotes. The banknotes also have security features that are not visible to the naked eye. When placing the banknote under a microscope, it shows micro-lettering with hidden symbols and numbers e.g. in the water surface next to the belt plate.

The 500-krone banknote, together with the 100- and 200-krone banknote, is among the most common banknotes used in ATM's. There are approximately 28 million 500-krone banknotes in circulation compared to a total number of banknotes of 163 million. The banknote stands for one fourth of the total value of notes in circulation of just over kr. 56 billion. After the 500-krone banknote the 1000-krone banknote will be launched in May 2011 as the last banknote in the new banknote series. The 50-krone banknote was launched in August 2009, the 100-krone banknote in May 2010 and the 200-krone banknote in October 2010.

Read more about the new banknotes at nationalbanken.dk