50-krone note
Series VIII, valid from 18.10.2018
Format: 126 x 70 mm
Front
Back
About the note
Check that the banknote is genuine
Look
Watermark
When the banknote is held up to the light, the watermark, the head of an Atlantic puffin with the denomination 50, is visible. The Atlantic puffin motif is featured on all the denominations.
Security thread
When the banknote is held up to the light, the security thread is visible as a dark line running through the paper. The security thread bears the text "NB" and the value of the banknote, 50, in small print.
Tilt
Floating ring
In the lower-left corner of the note, there is a rectangle containing a ring. When you tilt the banknote in different directions, the ring appears to float and you can see a play of colours.
Feel
Paper quality
The banknotes are printed on cotton paper, which feels different from ordinary paper. The cotton paper has been treated with a dirt-resistant coating, which gives it a smooth surface.
Raised print
The primary motif and a number of details on the front are printed in raised print, which can be felt.
Markings for the blind and visually impaired
There are raised lines printed along the short edges of the notes to enable the blind and the visually impaired to distinguish between the denominations. The higher the value, the more lines. On the 50-krone banknote, there are one group of four lines.
The motifs of the 50-krone note
Obverse side
The primary motif on the 50-krone note is based on Utvær Lighthouse in Solund municipality. This lighthouse was built in 1900 and is Norway's westernmost point.
Sea-marks like Utvær Lighthouse have a long history in Norway. The first concrete example of a Norwegian sea-mark is from the Saga Age, when in 869, Floke Vilgerdson built a cairn in Sveio municipality that later became known as Ryvarden.
As early as 1770, Utvær was a pilot station. The pilotage service was passed down from father to son for several generations, according to the long tradition along the entire coast.
Many large lighthouses were built along the Norwegian coast, especially in the second half of the 1800s. They are highly visible and cherished landmarks.
As a traffic and transportation artery, the sea has been crucial for the development of the Norwegian economy and society. Shipping lanes remain an important part of the transportation network binding the country together and a fine-meshed net of lighthouses and sea-marks covers the entire Norwegian coast.
In the upper-right corner of the banknote you can see an Atlantic puffin. The head of a puffin and the value of the banknote are also featured in the watermark used on all the denominations.
Reverse side
The pattern on the 50-krone note represents a light signal from a lighthouse. The wind is light, symbolised by the short rectangular shapes and gentle waves in the organic pattern. You can also see the constellation Ursa Major and the nautical chart symbol showing the divisions between the light sectors of a lighthouse.
A lighthouse is a sea-mark that emits light as a navigational aid at sea. Lighthouses emit light from a system of lamps and lenses, and are a part of an advanced network of sea-marks on the coast. Today, all lighthouses along the Norwegian coast are automated, but almost all of the classic lighthouses remain operational as navigational structures.
They do not stand alone. Along the entire Norwegian coast there is a fine-meshed network of over 21 000 lighthouses and sea-marks. Along with safe harbours and other maritime infrastructure, they have facilitated and secured navigation along an exposed coastline, and have been crucial for the development of communication, trade and culture.
Waves and wind are not always as calm as here on the 50-krone note. In squally weather, it is a comfort knowing that there are solid waypoints to guide our course.
The theme for the 50-krone banknote
On "The sea that binds us together", the theme for the 50-krone banknote
Both the English name for Norway and its Norwegian cognate Norge come from an early Old Norse word Norðrvegr, which can mean "the country towards the north" or "the northward route". For centuries, Norway's shipping lanes and seafaring tradition tied this long and narrow country together and provided the basis for the unification of Norway as a single realm. Throughout the 1800s and 1900s, an extensive infrastructure of lighthouses and sea marks was developed, making it safer to sail in coastal waters. The "watery highway" along the Norwegian coast is often referred to as Norway's "Route 1".
Based on texts by Per G. Norseng and Alan Hutchinson et al.
Even though the Norwegian coastal climate is harsh, the coastal waterway is well suited for sailing long distances. Most of the coast is sheltered by skerries that form the outside of an inner waterway with good natural harbours where, from time immemorial, seafarers have put in for the night and sought shelter from rough weather, or waited for a fair wind. Ever since prehistoric times, having land in sight for an entire journey has made coastal navigation relatively easy. In many places, seafarers have been able to navigate by noting distinctive mountain formations and other natural or man-made sea marks.
During the Middle Ages, stockfish was Norway's chief export, and was transported on small vessels from the north of Norway to Bergen, and then shipped to other countries. Much of the other transport between the fisheries and the towns in western and northern Norway took place in the same way, which helped to tie together the various parts of the country. From around 1500, simple clinker-built vessels were commonly used. Built by farmers, they were wide, had no deck, were single-masted and had a single square sail. Such boats continued to be used to carry freight right up to the beginning of the 1900s, when they were partly superseded by somewhat larger decked sailing ships. These larger sailing ships were later built with smooth hulls and engines.
The steam engine made scheduled service possible. In the 1820s, the first regular steamer went into service in Norway to transport post and passengers between Christiania and Kristiansand. Somewhat later, services were established between Trondheim and northern Norway, and between Trondheim and Kristiansand. In the latter half of the 1800s, steamships took over an increasing share of goods transport, either as freighters or as scheduled steamers that carried both cargo and passengers.
The most important routes were the coastal route between eastern Norway and Bergen and Hurtigruta (Coastal Steamer or Coastal Express) from Bergen northwards. At the same time, an extensive local boat network developed to connect the inhabitants of the numerous coastal islands and fjord communities to the larger towns.
Technological advances gradually replaced the topographical features that seafarers navigated by. Coastal steamer services were pioneers in using nautical charts, compasses, speed logs and chronometers. The system of lighthouses and marks made shipping faster, safer and more reliable all year round. These advances have enabled seafaring to retain its importance for Norway as a means of transporting both people and cargo. The sea still binds the people of Norway together, as it always has.