1894 Norway 2 Kroner King Oscar 2ed

For the thousand years between the Viking Age and today, which pieces of Scandinavia controlled which other pieces changed numerous times.

From 1521 until 1814, Norway was ruled by the king of Denmark. But Denmark picked the losing side during the Napoleonic wars, and as such was forced by treaty to cede sovereignty over Norway to Sweden - much to Norway's annoyance at not having any say in the matter. Denmark had given Norway considerable freedom and autonomy, which they managed to retain under the new arrangements. From 1814 to 1909, Norway and Sweden were two separate countries, with separate parliaments and separate coinages, but shared the same king - much like Britain, Australia and Canada today are separate countries with separate coinages that share the same monarch.

In 1905, Norway peacefully held a referendum to declare full independence from Sweden, and the people chose to remain a monarchy rather than become a republic. So the Norwegian government went shopping for a new king (since no-one in Norway could be found of old royal descent) and they invited Danish prince Carl, a distant descendant of the old Norwegian kings, to become their new monarch; he took the Norwegian name and title of Haakon VII. Norway, Sweden and Denmark have had separate kings or queens ever since.

I have kept an eye on this thread with a certain interest - Norwegian coins with Swedish kings are of course well known to Swedish coin collectors with some knowledge of Swedish history (and coin collectors tend to get that, if they don't already have it). @Sap has given an excellent recap of the relevant historical events. What can be added is that with the king seated in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, and only occasionally visiting his other country Norway, the Norwegians felt they were ruled by a foreign ruler. Especially annoying was that foreign affairs for both countries were conducted by the Swedish foreign office alone, with only Swedish embassies and consulates abroad. In 1905, the conflicting views escalated to the brink of war, but luckily peace negotations succeeded and the union was dissolved peacefully.

I should probably refrain from commenting on the Norwegians' ability to find a king among their own, even in line with the tradition of mutual jokes about the other nation that exists between Sweden and Norway. They are, however, far from alone in choosing a king from another nation. In fact, the "Swedish" king they got in 1818, Charles XIV (Charles III in Norway), was a French general. We imported him after his predecessor (of German origin . . .) died childless. We also have the United Kingdom with their royal line originating in Germany; Belgium, also with a German royal family; the Netherlands, whose royals have mixed German-Burgundian origin - and so on. (There are European royal lines not originating in Germany too. )

Let me just also say that it is a nice coin shown by the OP! Swedish coins from the same time have a similar design, same denominations (Sweden, Norway, and Denmark were in a monetary union), but on those Oscar is King of Sweden and Norway, in that order.

Yes thank you for the history lession! I am from West Virginia and we susceeded from Virginia during the Civil War to form our own state. I had relatives (Barger) that fought for the Union! Regards and thanks for your replies.