Item number: A2651

Year: AD 1873

Material: Gold (.900)

Size: 21.6 x 21.6 mm

Weight: 8.9606 g

Manufactured by: Royal Mint of Denmark (Den Kongelige Mønt), Gammelholm, Copenhagen

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2014

This is a 20-krone gold coin minted by the Royal Danish Mint at Gammelholm and issued by Danmarks Nationalbank.

The obverse features a right-facing portrait of King Christian IX of Denmark. Encircling the upper edge is the Danish inscription “CHRISTIAN IX KONGE AF DANMARK,” meaning “Christian IX, King of Denmark.” The date “1873” is engraved below to denote the year of mintage. To the left is the mintmark “♥” representing the Copenhagen Mint, while to the right is “CS,” the initials of Diderik Christian Andreas Svendsen, the then Director of the Mint. Below the King’s neck appears “HC,” the signature of the engraver Harald Conradsen. Conradsen joined the Royal Danish Mint in AD 1841 and was appointed royal medallist in AD 1871. He specialised in the design and production of medals, coins, and reliefs.

The reverse displays a seated left-facing allegorical female figure representing “Mother Denmark” (Mor Danmark), also known as “Dania.” She is modestly dressed, seated upright, wearing a diadem, her torso turned slightly, with her right hand resting on a sceptre and her left hand leaning on a large shield bearing the Danish coat of arms. The arms depict three crowned lions passant surrounded by hearts, serving both as the national coat of arms and the heraldic emblem of the House of Glücksburg. Behind her seat lie bundled sheaves of straw, symbolising the land and fertility, while a porpoise swims at her feet, representing Denmark’s historical connection with the sea, as the porpoise was once the most common large aquatic animal in the Baltic Sea. Due to the distinct outline of its tail fin, the porpoise is often mistaken for part of the figure itself, leading to the coin’s popular nickname, the “Mermaid” coin. Along the upper edge is the inscription “20 KRONER,” indicating the denomination.

Both the obverse and reverse are surrounded by an inner beaded border, with the edge of the coin featuring fine milling.

In AD 1873, influenced by the Latin Monetary Union of AD 1865 and the volatility in gold and silver prices following Germany’s adoption of the gold standard that same year, the Kingdom of Denmark and the United Kingdoms of Sweden-Norway jointly established the Scandinavian Monetary Union. The union aimed to create a unified currency system based on the gold standard to promote economic stability and facilitate trade among member states. From its inception, the three countries agreed upon the “krone” as their standard unit of account, pegged to gold at a fixed rate of 2.48 kroner per gram. The krone replaced their former currency systems and was exchanged at fixed rates: one krone equalled one Norwegian speciedaler, two Danish rigsdaler, or four Swedish riksdaler riksgälds. During the union, each member state’s currency was legal tender across all three nations. In AD 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War, Sweden abandoned the gold standard, leading to the practical dissolution of the union.

The Royal Danish Mint was founded in the 16th century under King Frederick II of Denmark, who established it in Copenhagen to mint circulating coins and official medals. In the mid-19th century, it supported the operations of the Scandinavian Monetary Union by producing krone-denominated gold and silver coins and later adopted mechanised production methods in the 20th century. The Mint was relocated to Brøndby in AD 1975 and, from AD 2014, outsourced its minting operations, focusing instead on currency design and planning.

King Christian IX of Denmark reigned from AD 1863 to AD 1906 as the first monarch of the House of Glücksburg. He earned the epithet “Father-in-law of Europe” due to his children marrying into various European royal families. Shortly after his accession, the Second Schleswig War broke out in AD 1864, resulting in Denmark’s military defeat and territorial loss. Nevertheless, he later oversaw the implementation of constitutional monarchy, stabilised domestic governance, and guided the country towards modernisation. His dignified image appeared widely on stamps and currency, including this gold coin, and came to symbolise Danish royal authority and national identity in the modern era.

物件編號: A2651

年代: 公元 1873 年

材質: 黃金 (900‰)

尺寸: 21.6 x 21.6 mm

重量: 8.9606 g

製造地: 丹麥王家鑄幣廠(Den Kongelige Mønt)，甘默霍爾姆，哥本哈根

來源: 大城郵幣社 2014

這是一枚由甘默霍爾姆丹麥王家鑄幣廠所鑄造，丹麥國家銀行(Danmarks Nationalbank)發行的20克朗(krone)金幣。

金幣正面為丹麥國王克里斯蒂安九世的右側肖像。上方環列丹麥文「CHRISTIAN IX KONGE AF DANMARK」，意即「克里斯蒂安九世，丹麥國王」。下方「1873」標示了鑄行年，左側「♥」為哥本哈根鑄幣廠的鑄幣標記，右側「CS」為時任鑄幣局局長迪德里克·克里斯蒂安·安德烈亞斯·斯文森(Diderik Christian Andreas Svendsen)的署名。國王頸下則刻有「HC」，為雕刻家哈拉爾·康拉德森(Harald Conradsen)之署名。公元1841年起，康拉德森受聘於丹麥王家鑄幣廠，公元1971年，成為王室的獎章雕刻師。擅長獎章、硬幣、浮雕的設計與製作。

金幣背面為丹麥擬人化身「丹麥母親」(Mor Danmark)，或稱「丹妮婭」(Dania)的左側坐像，其衣著樸素，坐姿端莊，頭戴帶狀冠，身軀微側，右手扶權杖，左手倚長盾，長盾上有著丹麥徽記，為三隻行走的戴冠雄獅，周圍飾以愛心。該徽記同時作為國徽與格呂克斯堡王朝王室紋章。座位後有秸稈成捆，象徵大地與豐饒，腳前則有一隻游動的鼠海豚，以波羅的海(曾經)最常見的大型水生動物象徵丹麥與海洋的聯繫。而也由於鼠海豚的尾鰭輪廓明顯，常被誤認為人像之一部份，是故此金幣也被稱為「美人魚」金幣。上方環列「20 KRONER」標示面額為20克朗。

正背面幣緣均為環飾，有向內珠狀圓齒，幣稜則為細齒。

公元1873年，受公元1865年之拉丁貨幣同盟的影響，以及德國於公元1873年採用金本位而造成的金銀價動盪。丹麥王國與瑞典-挪威君合國，於該年共同成立斯堪的納維亞貨幣聯盟(Scandinavian Monetary Union)。​該聯盟旨在建立一個基於金本位的統一貨幣體系，促進成員國之間的經濟穩定與貿易便利。自聯盟始建，三國共訂「克朗」幣值，與金價掛勾成每公克黃金2.48克朗，並取代三國原先貨幣體系，匯率固定為1克朗等於1挪威斯佩西達勒銀幣(Speciedaler)或2丹麥里格斯達勒銀幣(Rigsdaler)或4瑞典里克斯達勒(Riksdaler riksgalds)。聯盟期間，三國各自的貨幣甚至可以於另外二國境內作為法定貨幣流通。公元1914年，一戰爆發，瑞典克朗終止掛勾金價，聯盟實質上解體。

丹麥王家鑄幣廠創立於公元16世紀，最初由丹麥國王佛瑞德里克二世(或譯作腓特烈二世)於哥本哈根設立，負責鑄造流通貨幣與官方獎章。公元19世紀中期配合斯堪地那維亞貨幣聯盟，鑄造克朗金銀幣，並於公元20世紀實現機械化。公元1975年遷至布倫拜，公元2014年起鑄造業務外包，轉為設計與規劃單位。

丹麥國王克里斯蒂安九世(Christian IX)，於公元1863年至1906年在位，為格呂克斯堡王朝首位國王，被稱為「歐洲的岳父」，其子女聯姻多國皇室。即位未幾(公元1864年)旋爆發什列斯威(Schleswig)戰爭，丹麥戰敗失地，政局動盪。隨後他推行君主立憲，穩定內政，引領國家邁向現代化。其形象莊重，廣見於郵票與貨幣上，成為丹麥近代王權與國族象徵。