A mounted king raising a pair of scales: the artist Michael Guilfoyle took this image from Magnus Lagabøte’s equestrian seal of 1278 and reworked it for the 2024 20 kroner. The coin marks the 750th anniversary of the Landslov, the national law code of 1274.

As Norges Bank puts it, in 1274 Norway became one of the first kingdoms in Europe to have a law valid across the whole country. King Magnus VI, who reigned from 1263 to 1280, merged the older regional laws into a single code and so entered history as Lagabøte, the Lawmender. The Landslov ceased to be law in force only in 1687, yet its principles, the bank stresses, still live on in Norwegian legislation.

The reverse reads «MAGNUS LAGABØTES LANDSLOV 750 ÅR», with the value «20 KR» beneath the horse and the designer’s signature MJG on the left. Guilfoyle’s entry won the competition; the obverse with Harald V’s profile and the legend «HARALD V NORGES KONGE» is by Ingrid Austlid Rise. The coin was released on 1 February 2024.

The scales in the rider’s hand turn a medieval seal into an emblem of justice, a subject for collections on law and courts or on the medieval rulers of Scandinavia, and for a horse-themed set. Grade UNC: never circulated, free of wear, with full mint lustre, so the details of the seal appear exactly as the engraver intended.

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