Press Release
30 march 2004: Thematic coin with the goose tower
Danmarks Nationalbank will be issuing the fourth coin in its series of thematic coins with towers as the common theme. The Goose Tower in Vordingborg is the motif on the reverse of the coin. The face of the coin shows a profile of the Queen, identical to the one used on the most recent 20-krone coins. The Goose Tower coin will be issued as a 20-krone coin in an edition of 1.2 million coins. It is of the same size and alloy as the ordinary 20-krone coin in circulation and can be purchased at face value from banks and Danmarks Nationalbank from 31 March 2004.
The relief of the Goose Tower was designed by the sculptor Tina Maria Nielsen, who comments on the relief as follows: "The stairway by the Tower has been emphasised, and the goose and the brickwork have been made relatively larger than in real life to make the motif more dynamic. The Tower has been placed slightly to the left of the centre of the coin so that the motif does not become too static."
The Goose Tower is the best-preserved Medieval fortification tower in Denmark. It was built in the reign of King Valdemar IV (Atterdag) in the 1360s and is named for the golden goose that adorns the Tower. As the story goes, King Valdemar placed a golden goose on the Tower to mock his arch-enemies, the Hanseatic League, which he referred to as a flock of cackling, but otherwise harmless geese.
"Towers have been chosen as the theme since they represent both national and historical symbols. Unlike e.g. whole buildings they also give the artist a good opportunity to create an interesting coin with depth and a wealth of detail", says Governor Torben Nielsen, Danmarks Nationalbank. The tower motifs on the thematic coins have been chosen from among the many suggestions received by Danmarks Nationalbank. The next coin in the series will be issued later this year.