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50 Øre Great Norwegian Spitsbergen Coal Company
| Issuer | Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani Aktieselskap (The Great Norwegian Spitsbergen Coal Company) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1946-1956 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Orange letterpress-printed payment note on cream paper, with an overall fine hatched guilloche underprint covering the field. The issuer's name, Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani Aktieselskap, is set in bold display type at centre, above the denomination expressed both numerically and in words as '50 – Femti øre'. A large numeral '50' watermark-style ghost figure forms a decorative underprint across the lower centre. Series designation 'Serie Ee.' appears at upper left, with a boxed serial number at upper right. Two manuscript signatures appear at the foot, captioned 'Styrets formann.' at left and 'Kontorsjef, Spitsbergen.' at right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain cream paper reverse with a single bold typographic design: the denomination '50øre' printed in blue letterpress in large display lettering that occupies nearly the entire face of the note, with no further ornamentation or text. |
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| Comments |
Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani issued its own scrip currency for use exclusively within Longyearbyen — a company town on Svalbard where, under the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, Norwegian sovereignty was established but the practical economy ran entirely through the mining operation. Workers were paid in company scrip and spent it at company stores. Norwegian kroner had little function there.
The SN16r suffix denotes a remainder — unissued stock, which survived in greater quantities than circulated examples. Genuinely used copies from the 1946–1956 window show wear consistent with a small, closed community where the same notes passed through few hands repeatedly.