‘Billions’ worth’ of Danish 1,000-krone notes still in circulation after expiry

Danmarks Nationalbank said in a statement on Monday that 1,000-krone notes from the 2009 series, worth approximately 1.4 billion kroner, remain in circulation, despite the note ceasing to be legal tender as of June 1st.

Saturday had marked the final day on which 1,000-krone notes, as well as other denominations in older banknote designs predating 2009, could be used as valid payment.

The Nationalbank began recalling the notes in November 2023. The recalled notes included those from designs first introduced in 1944, 1952, 1972 and 1997, as well as the 1,000-krone note from the current 2009 series.

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At the time of the recall, the total value of 1,000-krone notes from the 2009 series in circulation was approximately 21.1 billion kroner.

Around 19.7 billion kroner of those notes had been returned by the end of May, leaving leaves around 1.4 billion kroner still unaccounted for.

People in possession of expired banknotes who missed the deadline can still hand them in up to and including May 31st 2026, but they can no longer be used as valid payment.

This means individuals, businesses and foreign nationals can still exchange the notes in person at one of the Nationalbank’s three branches in Aarhus, Odense or Copenhagen.

When the recall began 18 months ago, the total value of pre-2009 notes still in circulation, including the distinctive Viking-style designs of the 1997 issue, was estimated to be 3.4 billion kroner.

Around 26 percent or 875 million kroner of those had been returned as of Saturday.

Niels Kaas, chief cashier at the Nationalbank, told news wire Ritzau that the number of old notes handed in had exceeded expectations.

“These are older notes, many of which haven’t been in regular use in shops or banks for decades,” Kaas said.

“And since they’re physical items, in some cases dating back to the post-World War II period, some may have been lost or are being kept as collectibles,” he added.

A new series of banknote designs is scheduled to be released by 2029, replacing the current design which has been used since 2009.

The decision to make notes issued before 2009 invalid represents a change of practice because Denmark has not previously taken old banknote designs out of circulation, meaning notes from as far back as 1944 were still technically usable until Saturday.