500 Krónur Jón Sigurðsson

Issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jón Sigurðsson, the Icelandic scholar and statesman who led the independence movement against Danish rule throughout the mid-19th century. Iceland had no tradition of gold coinage — this was effectively the country's first modern gold issue, produced in extremely limited quantities for collectors rather than circulation. The Danish Royal Mint struck the pieces.

Sigurðsson never lived to see home rule, which finally came in 1904, nor full sovereignty in 1944.