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5 Kroner Great Norwegian Spitsbergen Coal Company
| Issuer | Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani Aktieselskap |
|---|---|
| Year | 1946-1956 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in purple on unadorned cream paper, the entire face occupied by a large bold denomination numeral '5' and the abbreviation 'Kr.' rendered in ornate serif letterpress with a stippled internal pattern, conveying the face value in a plain yet striking typographic design with no additional vignette or border. |
| Reverse lettering | 5 Kr. |
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| Comments |
Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani — the Great Norwegian Spitsbergen Coal Company — operated Longyearbyen as a company town so remote that ordinary Norwegian currency was impractical to circulate. The company issued its own scrip, valid only within the settlement, tying workers' wages directly to the company store and services. It was a closed monetary loop by geographic necessity, not corporate policy alone: Svalbard's peculiar status under the 1920 Treaty of Paris meant it was Norwegian sovereign territory but never fully integrated into the mainland economy.
The SN32r designation indicates a remainder, and unissued examples do surface with some regularity. Genuinely circulated pieces show wear concentrated at the folds.