Norway fell under German occupation in April 1940, and the question of wartime coinage became immediately political. The collaborationist Quisling government and German authorities sought to reshape the monetary supply, while the legitimate government operated in exile from London. This 1941 aluminium pattern was struck as the occupation administration explored material substitutions — aluminium being a metal the Reich had strategic interest in controlling, making its appearance in Norwegian pattern coinage a peculiar choice.
It was never approved for circulation. Haakon VII himself remained in exile until 1945.
Norway fell under German occupation in April 1940, and the question of wartime coinage became immediately political. The collaborationist Quisling government and German authorities sought to reshape the monetary supply, while the legitimate government operated in exile from London. This 1941 aluminium pattern was struck as the occupation administration explored material substitutions — aluminium being a metal the Reich had strategic interest in controlling, making its appearance in Norwegian pattern coinage a peculiar choice.
It was never approved for circulation. Haakon VII himself remained in exile until 1945.