Catalog
5 Kroner Heilmann type III: Overprint
| Issuer | Færø Amt (Faroe Islands County Administration) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Kroner (5 DKK) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a central vignette of the crowned Danish National coat of arms — three blue lions passant with nine red hearts on a gold shield — set within a wreath of stylized ivy and clover rendered in dark green intaglio. The denomination numeral "5" appears in large format to either side of the central shield, and the legend "FEM KRONER" arches across the top of the vignette. The overall background comprises an intricate Art Nouveau-style guilloche of intertwining floral tendrils in pale green and cream, with pink clover blossoms at the corners. |
| Reverse lettering | 5 FEM KRONER 5 (Translation: 5 five kroner 5) |
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| Comments |
When Germany occupied Denmark in April 1940, the British moved almost immediately to occupy the Faroe Islands — strategic Atlantic territory the Admiralty had no intention of leaving exposed. The problem was practical: the islands' currency supply ran through Copenhagen, now effectively cut off. With no notes available from the Danish National Bank, the Faroese county administration improvised. Existing Danish 5 Kroner notes were stamped with an overprint by H. N. Jacobsens Bókahandil, a Thorshavn bookseller and stationer with a press on hand.
The result is one of the few wartime emergency overprints issued under British military occupation on behalf of a civilian administration — and among the rarest 20th-century Scandinavian issues. The Hilbert signature refers to Hilbert Patursson, who signed as county administrator.