Norwegian mint heads overseas

Norway is selling its national mint to neighbouring Finland - and to a Norwegian collectable coins business.

The move by the Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, has raised 44m kroner ($6.1m; £3.7m; 5.3m euros).

The sale of the Royal Norwegian Mint was approved last month, but the shares were only transferred to the mint's new owners on 30 June.

Half the mint is now in the hands of the Mint of Finland, while the other half is owned by Samlerhuset, a collectible coins business in Oslo, Norway's capital.

The Mint of Finland also owns the Swedish Royal Mint, having bought it in 2001.

Euros by the back door

The deal includes a guarantee that Norwegian coins, both for circulation and for commemorating special occasions, will continue to be made at the mint's main facility in Kongsberg till 2009.

But according to the Norge Bank, the new owners are also expected to bring in new business.

That could mean that despite Norway's decision to stay out of the European Union - and thus out of the eurozone - its mint could end up making euro notes and coins, since Finland is part of the 12-nation eurozone.

As with most things euro-related, the selling of the mint has been controversial in Norway, with many people preferring it to stay in domestic hands - a factor driving the decision to sell half the shares to a domestic numismatist, as coin collectors are known.