5 Kroner 'Matadorsedler' Substitution notes

The "Matadorsedler" — literally "matador notes" — were emergency substitution issues produced because the German occupation had severely disrupted normal Danish banknote production and supply. Danmarks Nationalbank needed a stopgap, and these small-format notes filled that role from 1944 through the early postwar years. The nickname derived from the popular Danish board game Matador, whose play money the notes allegedly resembled — an unflattering comparison the public found entirely accurate.

The sheer number of signature combinations across this series, twenty in total spanning six years, reflects continuous staff turnover at the bank during and immediately after the occupation. Collectors generally chase the complete signature run, which makes the 1944 Svendsen pairings — particularly Hannibal and Sander — consistently harder to locate than the later Riim combinations.