The krone (Norwegian: [ˈkrûːnə], abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural kroner, is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including overseas territories and dependencies).

Money is spent mainly on food articles, alcohol, and tobacco, in that order, usually in bulk or large quantities.

This is due to considerably higher taxes and fees on tobacco and alcohol purchased domestically in Norway.

The Scandinavian currencies were mutually exchangeable at par until 1914 with the suspension of the gold standard due to World War I.

[4] In December 1992, the Central Bank of Norway abandoned the fixed exchange rate system in favor of floating exchange rates (managed float) due to the heavy speculation against the Norwegian currency in the early 1990s, which lost[clarification needed] the central bank around two billion kroner in defensive purchases of the NOK through the usage of foreign currency reserves for a relatively short period of time.

During the German occupation of Norway in the Second World War, zinc was used in place of cupro-nickel in 10, 25, and 50 øre coins and production of the 1 krone piece was suspended.

The following year, the size of the 5-øre coin was reduced; production of the denomination ceased in 1982, along with the minting of the 25 øre.

While not easy to find in Norway, the Syrian coins are still used in automated machines there with such frequency that Posten Norge, the Norwegian postal service, decided to close many of their coins-to-cash machines on 18 February 2006, with plans to develop a system able to differentiate between the two coins.

The value of the Norwegian krone compared to other currencies varies considerably from one year to another, mainly based on changes in oil prices and interest rates.

In 2002 the Norwegian krone grew to record high levels against the United States dollar and the euro.

Although interest rates had decreased to around 2 percent, the Norwegian krone grew even stronger.

Following 2009, the krone once again saw strong growth, making the dollar worth about 5.8 kroner as of the beginning of 2010.

[15] This presents a mystery, as Norway's economy has been strong and growing, and the decline cannot be fully explained by either oil price changes or interest rate differences between countries.