Monetary Romanticism, Currency and Central Banks in the Nineteenth Century: The Case of Denmark and the Duchies

How do monetary institutions, such as currencies and central banks, interrelate to the construction of national communities? Using the national conflict between the Danish state and the Duchies of Schleswig-Holstein in the nineteenth century as an exemplary case, this article demonstrates how both banks and currencies were mobilized as political symbols to promote an agenda of regional nationalism. In the article I show how the local Schleswig-Holstein currency and the local Schleswig-Holsteinische Landsbank became symbolic antagonists to the Danish central bank and the official state-sanctioned currency – which by Danish politicians were considers key elements in the attempt to consolidate the Danish nation-state. The article highlights the symbolic qualities of monetary institutions and offers an example of the interrelation between currencies, banks and nations. Through an empirical analysis of the national and monetary disputes in mid nineteenths century Denmark this article contributes to our understanding of money and banks as state-building tools and symbols of national community.