Catalog
20 Rigsdaler D.C. - Frederick VI
| Issuer | Depositokassen (Deposit Savings Bank), Copenhagen |
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| Year | 1808 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | The face is laid out in a letterpress typographic format with the denomination «20 Rdlr. D.C.» stated at the top and repeated in Roman numeral form to the right margin. A block of promissory text in Danish occupies the central field, flanked to the left by an ornate typeset border or decorative pattern. Signatures and a serial number appear in the lower portion, while an impressed dry stamp bearing the royal monogram of Frederick VI and the Danish coat of arms serves as the primary authentication device. |
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| Protection description | Embossed dry stamp bearing the royal monogram of Frederick VI and the Danish coat of arms, applied directly to the paper as an authentication mark. |
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| Comments |
Depositokassen was established in 1791 as a temporary state mechanism to absorb excess copper coinage from the Danish monetary system — an institution born of inconvenience rather than design. By 1808, Denmark's finances were under severe strain: the country had just lost its fleet to the British bombardment and seizure of Copenhagen in 1807, and emergency paper instruments were proliferating as metallic reserves dried up.
The impressed stamp security feature on this series was minimal protection at best, and contemporary accounts note widespread public skepticism toward Depositokassen notes. Rigsdaler issues from this period were superseded following the 1813 Danish state bankruptcy, after which most circulating paper was either redeemed at severe discount or simply abandoned.