Pete's Easy Guide to Danish Coins

Here are the Danish coins that end up in my pocket most often:

There are other coins in circulation, including the “ore,” 100 of which make up one krone, but the four above — 1 krone, and 2, 10 and 20 kroner coins — appear to be the big four.

It can sometimes take me years to see obvious patterns, and, indeed, it’s taken me four years to realize the symmetry among these four.

Here’s a ballparking guide for Canadians, based on June 2008 exchange, for what each is worth:

• 1 DKK - 21 cents - “a quarter”
• 2 DKK - 43 cents - “two quarters”
• 10 DKK - 2.12 - “a toonie”
• 20 DKK - 4.24 - “five bucks”

The 20 DKK coin is the killer for me, and it’s the route by which I ended up leaving a 5 dollar tip on a 7 dollar cup of coffee yesterday.