Show Me The Money: The 10 Króna Coin

Until the mid-to-late 19th century, most financial transactions in Iceland were conducted in vaðmál (homespun wool). However, since 1922, Iceland has issued its own currency, the króna. Iceland never being the best at economic stability, the króna has lost significant value every decade since its initial issue, and in 1981 we decided to cut a couple of zeros from it, introducing the current króna. So, let’s meet the…

10 Króna Coin

Fishing is one of the main industries in Iceland, so it is no wonder that they’ve chosen to depict various fish on all their coins. On the 10 króna coin is the capelin. Ah yes, the capelin—what an icon. When we imagine a North Atlantic fish, don’t we all close our eyes and see the capelin? If you’ve never heard of the capelin and have to… I don’t know… Wikipedia said fish, you will discover four main things:

1. The males are really lame and almost all die after the spawning process.
2. They are food for puffins.
3. They are food for sushi lovers in the form of masago roe.
4. These are the only interesting things about the capelin.

So, what’s it worth?

10 króna is currently worth $0.08, €0.08 and £0.07. Which begs the question: if you drop one on the ground, is it actually worth picking it back up? Would you be able to buy any sustenance to replenish your body of the calories it took to crouch down, scoop it up, stand up again, rub off the debris and put it back in your pocket? I haven’t done the maths, but considering that you can buy literally nothing with a 10 króna coin, I’m guessing the answer is: no, it’s not worth it.

Disclaimer: Littering is bad for the environment; so don’t actually leave your coins all over the street. Not that the 10 króna is trash but… it’s basically trash.

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