Valkean kruunu

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Valkean kruunu
ISO 4217
CodeVKK
Denominations
Subunit
 ​1100sentti
Pluralkruunut
 senttisentit
Symbolkr
 senttis
Nicknamecrown (English), krona (Nynorsk)
 sentticent
Banknotes
 Freq. used50, 100, 200, 500 kr
 Rarely used1000 kr
Coins1, 2, 5, 10, 20 kr
Demographics
User(s) Valkea
Issuance
Central bankBank 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One kruunu is divided into 100 cents (sentit, singular: sentti), although the last coins denominated in cents were withdrawn from circulation in 2016.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 Nalkki Airport
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