Yesterday, November 9th, I acquired ten rolls of circulated 20 kroner coins from a bank, i.e. 200 coins. I have done a break-down of types and dates. I am making these observations available here, because I thought they might be of interest, especially to foreign collectors.
The coins in the rolls were:
Non-commemoratives:
1990: 66 pcs (33%)
1991: 16 pcs (8%)
1993: 1 pc (0.5%)
1994: 8 pcs (4%)
1996: 17 pcs (8.5%)
1998: 9 pcs (4.5%)
1999: 5 pcs (2.5%)
2001: 12 pcs (6%)
2002: 5 pcs (2.5%)
2003: 6 pcs (3%)
2004: 5 pcs (2.5%)
2005: 8 pcs (4%)
2006: 4 pcs (2%)
2007: 6 pcs (3%)
2008: 2 pcs (1%)
2009: 0 pcs (0%)
2010: 0 pcs (0%)
2011: 0 pcs (0%)
2012: 0 pcs (0%)
2013: 0 pcs (0%)
2014: 3 pcs (1.5%)
2015: 1 pc (0.5%)
2016: 1 pc (0.5%)
2017: 5 pcs (2.5%)
Commemorative and thematic coins:
2003 tower series – Christiansborg: 3 pcs (1.5%)
2004 tower series – Gåsetårnet: 1 pc (0.5%)
2006 tower series – Gråsten Castle: 1 pc (0.5%)
2006 tower series – Tre Brødre: 2 pcs (1%)
2007 ship series – Vædderen: 1 pc (0.5%)
2007 tower series – Copenhagen city hall: 3 pcs (1.5%)
2008 ship series – Selandia: 1 pc (0.5%)
2008 ship series – Dannebrog: 2 pcs (1%)
2011 ship series – Hjejlen: 1 pc (0.5%)
2012 reign anniversary: 1 pc (0.5%)
2013 scientist series – Niels Bohr: 1 pc (0.5%)
2015 Queen’s birthday: 2 pcs (1%)
2017 royal wedding anniversary: 1 pc (0.5%)
Thus, 180 coins (90%) are non-commemorative and 20 coins (10%) are commemorative.
Notice that no less than 33% of the coins are from the first year, 1990. This is not so strange, as the coins of this year were intended to replace the 20 kroner bank notes in circulation untill the introduction of the coins.
Notice also that the earliest commemorative/thematic coin represented is from 2003, there are none from the 1990s. There seems to have been a shift in the attitude of the general public towards the circulating commemorative/thematic coins, beginning around 2000. The commemorative coins from the 1990s are never found in circulation. They weren't found in circulation back in the 1990s either, in spite of the mintage being generally one million per type, and the coins being released at face value. This means that the interest in these coins from the general public was sufficient to keep the coins effectively out of circulation. More recent commemorative/thematic coins are not uncommon in circulation. This points to a decrease in interest from the general public. I believe that the explanation for this change in attitude is related to the increased frequency in the release of these coins. No less that five specialized thematic series were issued between 2002 and 2013: the tower series, the fairytale series, the ship series, the polar series and the scientist series. The novelty value has simply worn off, and people don't care so much about the commemoratives. I had also been wondering if the royal vs. non-royal factor was at play. All commemorative coins issued between 1888 and 2000 were related to events in the royal family, with the exceptions of the 1953 Greenland charity issue and the 1995 millennium of coinage issue. It could be that there is simply greater interest from a mass audience in royal events than in towers, fairytales, ships, the Arctic and scientists. This probably does play a role, but it's not borne out by observation. The 1995 non-royal commemorative was (and is) practically never seen in circulation, while post-2002 royal commemoratives are certainly found in circulation, as seen in the data above.