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12 Rigsbankskilling - Christian VIII Handelsstederne i Grønland
| Issuer | Handelsstederne i Grønland (Danish Royal Greenland Trade Department) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1844 |
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| Value | 12 Skilling (1/8) |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress text on white paper with red decorative elements. An oval cartouche at the top centre contains the denomination numeral, below which the promissory text is set out in full. The royal cypher of King Christian VIII appears at the upper left, while the crowned Greenlandic polar bear vignette occupies the lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 12 Rb.Skl. Denne Anviisning gielder for Tolv Rigsbank Skilling ved Handelstederne i Grönland. Kiöbenhavn, 1841 (Translation: 12 Rigsbankskilling This note is valid for twelve Rigsbankskilling at the Trading Posts in Greenland. Copenhagen, 1841) |
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| Comments |
The Danish Royal Greenland Trade Department held a legal monopoly over all commerce in Greenland, and these notes functioned as a closed-system currency — valid only within the trading posts themselves, not redeemable elsewhere in the Danish realm. The 12 Rigsbankskilling denomination sits in the middle of a fractional series designed to facilitate small transactions where coin supply was perpetually inadequate. Copper and silver simply did not reach the settlements reliably enough to sustain day-to-day trade.
Christian VIII had authorized a reorganization of the Greenlandic trade notes in the 1840s as part of broader administrative tidying of the overseas monopoly system. The notes were effectively scrip — company currency backed by the Crown's commercial arm rather than by a central bank.