Rigsbankskilling: Denmark's Post-Bankruptcy Coin

Illustrated Specimen Details: Rigsbankskilling

Example Specimen: 1 Rigsbankskilling, 1813 — Kingdom of Denmark

Design & Historical Context: This copper coin from 1813 represents a critical turning point in Danish economic history. The obverse features the Latin inscription FREDERICUS VI DEI GRATIA REX ("Frederick VI — King by the Grace of God"), honoring Frederick VI, the monarch who ruled as the King of Denmark (1808-1839) and King of Norway (1808-1814). He was notably the last king of the Denmark-Norway union — a powerful multinational realm that spanned from the 16th to the 19th century and included the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway, the Duchy of Schleswig, the Duchy of Holstein, and various overseas colonies.

The reverse straightforwardly displays the denomination 1 RIGSBANK SKILLING and the year of issue. This specific coin was struck during the implementation of the sweeping monetary reform of 1813, an initiative launched to stabilize the nation's economy after the severe financial crisis and state bankruptcy caused by the Napoleonic Wars.

1. KINGDOM OF DENMARK (1813-1853): rigsbankskilling = 1/96 rigsbankdaler

RIGSBANKSKILLING as a coin name.
The Rigsbankskilling (translating literally as "skilling of the National Bank") was the primary Danish exchange coin introduced in 1813. In the new monetary system, it was established that 96 rigsbankskilling equaled 1 rigsbankdaler. The prefix "rigsbank" was deliberately added to distinguish this new, stable currency from the heavily depreciated older skilling that had circulated prior to the state's financial collapse.

Monetary Reform and Numismatic History

Although the Danes used this specific denomination for less than half a century, a remarkable variety of coins was minted during this relatively short period. The Rigsbank issued several fractional denominations to facilitate daily trade, including 1/5, 1/2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 16, and 32 rigsbankskilling. Depending on the face value, these coins were struck in copper or varying purities of silver and billon (0.208, 0.229, 0.250, 0.375, 0.500, and 0.687).

On the coins themselves, the name was abbreviated or spelled in multiple ways — such as "Rigsbank Skilling", "R.B.S.", or "RB.SK.". Visually, these pieces almost always featured the portrait of the ruling monarch or the royal monogram, alongside the Danish crown.

Cataloging Anomalies and Transition

By 1854, another monetary reform took place. The rigsbankdaler was officially renamed the "rigsdaler", and the rigsbankskilling was simplified back to the name skilling rigsmønt (often referred to simply as the "State skilling coin"), though its fractional value of 1/96 remained identical.

Interestingly, for unknown reasons, many numismatic dictionaries and specialized catalogs classify the "rigsbankskilling" as a distinct, independent denomination, whereas the later "skilling rigsmønt" is typically treated just as a sub-type of the standard skilling. A similar cataloging anomaly exists with the Swedish Skilling Banco, which is often not granted full independent denomination status in the same way.

The era of the rigsbankskilling and its successors finally concluded in 1875 when Denmark joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union, abandoning the centuries-old daler-based system entirely in favor of the modern decimalized krone and øre.