I was just slightly bored
and waiting for Neigbours to start when I went through my purse and looked at a 5000 Krona bill. And that is when I started to wonder; there are several unusal things about this lovely piece of paper.
The Icelandic 5000 Krona!
1) It is the highest bill you can have in your wallet here in Iceland. There are others: 500 Krona, 1000 Krona, 2000 Krona (and I never get one of those!) and this 5000 Krona bill.
2) It can almost get you slightly drunk if you take it down town!
3) You hardly see it anymore; except in the hands of tourists or some really purist Icelandic people. Icelanders use credit- or debit cards wherever they go. Even if they just shop for a cucumber and a coke in the local store.
4) It is the only bill that has a woman on it. And for the life of me, I do not know why she is on that bill. Her name is Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir (1646-1715) and she was the third wife of bishop Gisli Þorvaldsson. The only thing she was known for is her embroidery and little else. Maybe some of you Icelandics can illuminate me on this matter.
How about Vigdís Finnbogadóttir on that bill. She is our former president and also the first female president anywhere really. Now there is historical value!
In case you wonder what decorates Icelandic coins...yes, you guessed it...various types of fish!
and waiting for Neigbours to start when I went through my purse and looked at a 5000 Krona bill. And that is when I started to wonder; there are several unusal things about this lovely piece of paper.
The Icelandic 5000 Krona!
1) It is the highest bill you can have in your wallet here in Iceland. There are others: 500 Krona, 1000 Krona, 2000 Krona (and I never get one of those!) and this 5000 Krona bill.
2) It can almost get you slightly drunk if you take it down town!
3) You hardly see it anymore; except in the hands of tourists or some really purist Icelandic people. Icelanders use credit- or debit cards wherever they go. Even if they just shop for a cucumber and a coke in the local store.
4) It is the only bill that has a woman on it. And for the life of me, I do not know why she is on that bill. Her name is Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir (1646-1715) and she was the third wife of bishop Gisli Þorvaldsson. The only thing she was known for is her embroidery and little else. Maybe some of you Icelandics can illuminate me on this matter.
How about Vigdís Finnbogadóttir on that bill. She is our former president and also the first female president anywhere really. Now there is historical value!
In case you wonder what decorates Icelandic coins...yes, you guessed it...various types of fish!
4 Comments:
The historical value of this person is virtually unknown to me, although there must be something she did that is of importance to us Icelanders. Maybe she was accomplished in a Jane Austen kinda way, in a domestic sense, with tea-drinking and garden-walkinga and such important ventures. Looking at her picture, I somehow cannot see her landing a gentleman worth more than 5000 a year, ten thousand is out of the question. My suggestion for the 10000 bill would be Birgitta Haukdal, who is, as everyone knows, my hero.
Tryggvi
Maybe one has to be dead before one can graze the front or back of a bill? Except Royalty that is! So...not Birgitta I am afraid, but we already have her doll and that is about as much as anybody can handle.
That is a little bit odd... guess I could always use strange Icelandic(sp?) information though!
Nice to see you are updating again though.
By the way, I think that animal MIGHT be a sloth.
images.google.com and type in sloth - see if it looks like the one you saw?
I think she sew something famous. But, if you could sew a hat like that for me, I think I would look just like this lady.
Mom
Post a Comment
Bow Before Your Queen and be Transported HOME!