Gold holdings of Norway

A 20-crown gold coin with the coat of arms of Norway

The gold holdings of Norway also known as "gold reserves" (Norwegian Bokmål: Norges gullbeholdning or Norges gullreserver) are the physical quantity of gold owned of the Kingdom of Norway. During the eras of the gold standard, the national currency was redeemable by a specific quantity of the state's gold holdings.

Current status

In 2004, Norway's gold holdings consisted of approximately 37 tonnes divided on 33.5 tonnes of bars and 3.5 tonnes of coins.[1] In 2004, the Bank of Norway—the central bank issuing the Norwegian crown—excluded the gold from its forex reserves and sold all bars, except seven, on the international gold market in London.[1]

Of today's approximately 415,000 gold coins, 393,000 (approx. 3.3 tonnes) are Norwegian 10-crown and 20-crown coins of the 19th century and early 20th century, produced at the Mint in Kongsberg, while the others (approx. 200 kilos) originate in Sweden, Denmark, France, Austria, and Hungary.[2]

History

In April 1940, when Norway was invaded by Germany, the gold reserves included 48.8[1] or 60 tonnes. During the morning hours of 9 April, 818 boxes of 40 kilos each, 685 boxes of 25 kilos each, and 39 barrels of 80 kilos each were brought out of Oslo parallel with the capital city being invaded.[1] The gold was subsequently transported to the United Kingdom by the British Royal Navy and, in June and July, further to Montreal, later Ottawa, in Canada and New York City in the United States.[3][4] Only a small portion, approximately 5,715 troy ounces, was kept in London. From 1940 to 1945, the gold holdings would fund both the exiled King and Government and the resistance movement.

In 1987, approximately 10 tonnes of gold coins were returned home from the Federal Reserve Bank and the Bank of Canada.[3][2] The gold bars remained in the United States. Additionally, coins that were considered having no numismatic or historic value were remelted into bars.

In 1988, Oslo Mynthandel, represented by Jan Olav Aamlid, purchased 100,484 coins from the state's gold holdings and distributed them to collectors and investors.[4]

Culture

In 2015, the Royal Canadian Mint commemorated the 1940 transport with a special issue (Allied Gold/L'or des alliés) of the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf.[5]

In the 2015 TV series Okkupert, the state's gold holdings are sent by express train to Sweden as Russia invades Norway.[6]

See also

References

Literature

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