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10 Kroner Great Norwegian Spitsbergen Coal Company
| Issuer | Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani Aktieselskap |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919-1926 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Yellow-green note printed in black letterpress on plain paper, with a large pale underprint numeral '10 Kr.' filling the centre. The issuer's name appears in elaborate Gothic script within scrollwork cartouches, surmounted by the heading 'Betalingsmerke'. Series and serial number panels occupy the upper corners, with two manuscript signatures and their respective titles at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain unprinted paper ground in cream-beige, bearing only the large bold denomination numeral '10' and abbreviation 'Kr.' in heavy outlined letterpress type, centred across the entire face without further ornamentation or border. |
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| Comments |
Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani — the Great Norwegian Spitsbergen Coal Company — issued its own scrip currency for use at Longyearbyen, the company town on Svalbard where the nearest Norwegian bank was roughly 1,300 kilometres away. These notes functioned as truck system currency: wages were paid partly in scrip redeemable only at the company store, tying workers economically to the operation. The arrangement was not unusual for remote Arctic mining camps in this period, but Svalbard's peculiar legal status under the 1920 Paris Treaty — which gave Norway sovereignty while guaranteeing other signatories mineral rights — meant the island existed outside Norway's normal banking jurisdiction for years after.
The "r" suffix on SN39r designates a remainder, unissued stock that was never cancelled and signed. These are considerably more common in collections than genuinely circulated examples.