The Faroese banknote series

The motifs
The primary motif on the notes is a number of Faroese animals. On the face of the notes the animals are untraditionally shown as fragments. On the reverse, watercolours of Faroese landscapes by the Faroese artist Zacharias Heinesen (b. 1936) are reproduced. The fauna motifs contribute life and variation to the notes, while the watercolours lend a special quality of lightness.

The motifs have been chosen, among other reasons, for their dissimilarity, so that the banknotes are easy to distinguish from each other.

Hologram
Holograms are found on the 100-, 200-, 500- and 1,000-krone banknotes. The hologram is one of several security features, which also include a security thread with colour change and a watermark. These features are designed to make it easier to distinguish a counterfeit from a genuine banknote. The hologram motifs are inspired by church pews from Kirkjubøur.

Same height
The banknotes are of the same height, but vary in length by 1 cm between each denomination.

Old banknotes are still legal tender
The old banknotes remain legal tender, but will be gradually withdrawn from circulation.

Background
The currency in the Faroe Islands is 1 króna and the exchange rate to the Danish banknotes is 1:1. The Faroese banknotes are regarded as a foreign currency in Denmark thus they are not legal tender in Denmark, nor are Danish banknotes legal tender in the Faroe Islands. However, Faroese banknotes can be encashed to Danish banknotes free of charge at Danmarks Nationalbank in the same way as Danish banknotes can be encashed to Faroese banknotes in the Faroe Islands.The coins in the Faroe Islands and in Denmark are the same.