5 Kroner - Oscar II King Oscar II issue

Pick 1 is the first note formally catalogued for modern Norway — Norges Bank had issued paper since 1816, but the transition to an in-house printing operation and a regularized series under Oscar II marks a distinct break from earlier private-contract production. Christie's engraving work was notable for a provincial press; Norges Banks Seddeltrykkeri in Trondheim was not a facility typically producing work at the level of, say, Bradbury Wilkinson, yet the plate quality held up through a print run spanning nearly a quarter century.

The series coincides almost exactly with Norway's push toward dissolution of the union with Sweden, finalized in 1905 — four years after this type was retired.