Valkean kruunu

Valkean kruunu
ISO 4217
Code	VKK
Denominations
Subunit
​1⁄100	sentti
Plural	kruunut
sentti	sentit
Symbol	kr
sentti	s
Nickname	crown (English), krona (Nynorsk)
sentti	cent
Banknotes
Freq. used	50, 100, 200, 500 kr
Rarely used	1000 kr
Coins	1, 2, 5, 10, 20 kr
Demographics
User(s)	Valkea
Issuance
Central bank	Bank of Valkea

The Valkean kruunu (plural: krunuut, sign: kr, code: VKK) is the currency of the Republic of Valkea. The ISO code "VKK" and currency sign "kr" are used to identify the kruunu; the former precedes the numeric value while the latter follows it. It is sometimes called the Valkean crown in English, as kruunu means "crown" in Valkean.

One kruunu is divided into 100 cents (sentit, singular: sentti), although the last coins denominated in cents were withdrawn from circulation in 2016.

History

The modern incarnation of the kruunu was introduced upon the Kingdom of Valkea's switch to the gold standard in 1874. The kruunu replaced the previous markka (plural: markat) and was pegged at a rate of 2 markat = 1 kruunu.

In 1925, the Kansallist Party under Hannu Sibelius made plans to replace the kruunu for a different currency, with the aim to distance the then-nascent Republic of Valkea from its monarchial past. However, those plans were abandoned soon after Sibelius' assassination in 1928. His successor, Markku Vuotola, instead chose to retain the kruunu and moved it off the gold standard in 1930. Its rate to the NationStates Dollar fell from $0.42 to $0.29 in 1931 and to $0.17 by 1932. To stop the kruunu from devaluing even further, in 1934, the currency was placed on a fixed rate of 5.218 kr per N$D. This rate remained more or less stable until the Valkean government allowed the kruunu to float in 1973.

To maintain Valkea's competitiveness in exports, the Valkean government heavily intervened in foreign exchange markets to keep the value of the kruunu low. Despite the impact of the 1971 Recession, the kruunu steadily rose in value through the second half of the 1970s as well as through the 1980s.

Coins

Coins in circulation

Value	Diameter	Thickness	Weight	Composition	Edge
1 kr	19.5 mm	1.6 mm	3.4 g	Copper-plated steel	Smooth
2 kr	20 mm	1.8 mm	3.8 g		Milled
5 kr	23.5 mm	2.1 mm	6 g	Cupro-nickel	Smooth
10 kr	25 mm	2.3 mm	7.2 g		Milled
20 kr	28 mm	2.4 mm	8.5 g	Aluminium bronze	Interrupted milling

Banknotes

Current series

Value	Dimensions	Main color		Design
				Obverse	Reverse
50 kr	121 x 66 mm		Yellow	Eino Saro, painter	Shores of Karhujärvi
100 kr	129 x 66 mm		Blue	Elisa Niemi, actress	Valkean National Theatre
200 kr	137 x 66 mm		Red	Sakarias Ilves, architect	Källälivi Central Station
500 kr	146 x 66 mm		Green	Väinö Mikkola, priest and theologian	Kiesimä Cathedral
1000 kr	156 x 66 mm		Purple	Auli Hyvönen, cosmologist	Aurora borealis