Swedish krona


The krona is the currency of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use for the krona; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it but, especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value. In English, the currency is sometimes referred to as the Swedish crown, as krona means "crown" in Swedish. As the ninth-most traded currency in the world by value, the Swedish krona is one of the world's G10 currencies, and is the fourth-most traded from Europe after the euro, British pound and Swiss franc. Banknotes are issued by the Sveriges Riksbank.
One krona is subdivided into 100 öre. Coins as small as 1 öre were formerly in use, but the last coin smaller than 1 krona was discontinued in 2010. Goods can still be priced in öre, but all sums are rounded to the nearest krona when paying with cash. The word öre is ultimately derived from the Latin word for gold.

History

The introduction of the krona, which replaced the riksdaler at par, was a result of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which came into effect in 1876 and lasted until the beginning of World War I. The parties to the union were the Scandinavian countries, where the name was krona in Sweden and krone in Denmark and Norway, which in English literally means "crown". The three currencies were on the gold standard, with the krona/krone defined as of a kilogram of pure gold.
The mutual equivalence of all three currencies ended in World War I when their convertibility to gold was suspended. While their gold parities remained during most of the interwar period, these currencies were generally quoted at varying market rates.
The krona is one of the six currencies included in the U.S. Dollar Index.

Coins

History

Between 1873 and 1876, coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 öre and 1, 2, 10, and 20 kronor were introduced. The 1, 2 and 5 öre were in bronze, the 10, 25, 50 öre and 1 krona and 2 kronor were in silver, and the 10 and 20 kronor were in gold. Gold 5-kronor coins were added in 1881.
In 1873 the Scandinavian Monetary Union currency was fixed so that 2,480 kronor purchased 1 kg of gold. In 2017 the price of gold is 365,289 kronor per kg. So one öre in 1873 bought as much gold as 1.47 kronor in 2017. So if it is reasonable to have the smallest denomination coin 1 krona today, in 1873 a reasonable smallest denomination coin was 1 öre. A 10 kr gold coin weighed 4.4803 grams with 900 fineness so that the fine weight was 4.03327 grams or exactly 1/248th of a kilogram.
In 1902, production of gold coins ceased, and was briefly restarted in 1920 and 1925 before ceasing entirely. Due to metal shortages during World War I, iron replaced bronze between 1917 and 1919. Nickel-bronze replaced silver in the 10, 25 and 50 öre in 1920, with silver returning in 1927.
Metal shortages due to World War II again led to changes in the Swedish coinage. Between 1940 and 1947, the nickel-bronze 10, 25 and 50 öre were again issued. In 1942, iron again replaced bronze and the silver content of the other coins was reduced. In 1962, cupronickel replaced silver in the 10-öre, 25-öre and 50-öre coins.
In 1968, the 2-kronor switched to cupronickel and the 1-krona switched to cupronickel-clad copper. Nonetheless, all previous mintages of the 1-krona and 2-kronor were still legal tender until 2017, though 2-kronor coins were extremely rarely seen in circulation as they have not been issued since 1971. The 2-kronor coins contained 40% silver until 1966, which meant they had been for several years worth much more than face value, so most have been bought and melted down by arbitrageurs, and the rest are kept by collectors.
In 1954, 1955 and 1971, 5-kronor silver coins were produced, with designs similar to contemporary 1-krona and 2-kronor coins. In 1972, a new, smaller 5-kronor coin was introduced, struck in cupronickel-clad nickel. The current design has been produced since 1976. 5-kronor coins minted since 1954 are legal tender but tend to be kept by collectors for their silver content.
The royal motto of the monarch is also inscribed on many of the coins. A new 5-kronor coin was designed in 1974, at a time when there were political efforts to abandon the monarchy and the young inexperienced king. The monarchy remained, but the 5-kronor was not given a portrait. Coins minted before 1974 have the same size, but contain the portrait of King Gustav VI Adolf and his royal motto.
Cash rounding, commonly called Swedish rounding, is a legally-enforced method of rounding off change, up or down, to the nearest unit of physical currency, while retaining the öre as pricing and accounting unit. It was required in conjunction with the phaseout of smaller coins, as follows:
  • 1971: 1- and 2-öre phased out; change rounded to nearest 5-öre.
  • 1984: 5- and 25-öre phased out; change rounded to nearest 10-öre.
  • 1991: 10-öre phased out; change rounded to nearest 50-öre.
  • 2010: 50-öre phased out; change rounded to nearest 1-krona.
In 1971 the 2-kronor coin ceased production. In 1972 the sizes of the 5-öre and 5-kronor coins were reduced.
In 1991, aluminium-brass 10-kronor coins were introduced; previous 10-kronor coins are not legal tender. In the same year bronze-coloured 50-öre coins were introduced.
On 18December 2008, the Riksbank announced a proposal to phase out the 50-öre, the final öre coin, by 2010. The öre would still remain a subdivision unit for electronic payments. The reasons may have included low purchasing power, higher production and distribution cost than the value and the coins cannot be used in most parking machines and vending machines. On 25 March 2009, the Riksdag formally decided to enact the law to abolish 50-öre coins as legal tender. Under that law, the final date payments could be made with 50-öre coins was 30 September 2010. Remaining 50-öre coins could be exchanged at banks until the end of March 2011.

Contemporary

On 11September 2012, the Riksbank announced a new series of coins with new sizes to replace the 1-krona and 5-kronor coins; the new coins arrived in October 2016. The design of the coins follows the theme of singer-songwriter Ted Gärdestad's song, "Sol, vind och vatten", with the designs depicting the elements on the reverse side of the coins. This also included the reintroduction of the 2-kronor coin, while the current 10-kronor coin remained the same. The new coins also have a new portrait of the king in their design. One of the reasons for a new series of coins was to end the use of nickel. Vending machines and parking meters have to a fairly high degree stopped accepting coins and accept only bank cards or mobile phone payments.
After the launch of the current coin series in 2016, all the old kronor coins have been invalid since 2017. They cannot be used for payments, nor can they be exchanged for legal tender at any bank, and are instead instructed to be recycled as metal.
Jubilee and commemorative coins have been minted, and those since 1897 are also legal tender.

Banknotes

History

In 1874, notes were introduced by the Riksbank in denominations of 1 krona and 5, 10, 50, 100 and 1,000 kronor. The 1 krona was only initially issued for two years, although it reappeared between 1914 and 1920. In 1939 and 1958, 10,000-kronor notes were issued.
Production of the 5-kronor note ceased in 1981, although a coin had been issued since 1972. With the introduction of a 10-krona coin in 1991, production of 10-kronor notes ceased and a 20-kronor note was introduced.
All remaining one krona banknotes became invalid after 31 December 1987. All remaining five krona and ten krona banknotes became invalid after 31 December 1998.
An exhaustive list of every banknote design since 1874 is not included, but the following five designs were or will be retired in 2016–2017. The oldest design began to be printed in 1985.
A 20-kronor banknote was printed 1991–1995 with a portrait of the writer Selma Lagerlöf and on the reverse was an engraved interpretation of a passage from the book The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. The banknote became invalid after 31 December 2005. A more secure version with the same portrait was printed from 1997 to 2008 and became invalid after 30 June 2016.
A 50-kronor banknote was printed 1996–2003 with a portrait of the singer Jenny Lind and on the reverse was a picture of a silver harp and its tonal range. The banknote became invalid after 31 December 2013. A more secure version with the same portrait was printed from 2006 to 2011 and became invalid after 30 June 2016.
A 100-kronor banknote was printed 1986–2000 with a portrait of the botanist Carl Linnaeus and on the reverse was a drawing of a bee pollinating a flower. The banknote became invalid after 31 December 2005. A more secure version with the same portrait was introduced in 2001 and became invalid after 30 June 2017.
A 500-kronor banknote in a blue shade was introduced in 1985 with a portrait of King Charles XI and on the reverse an engraving depicts Christopher Polhem, the "father of Swedish engineering". These banknotes became invalid on 31 December 1998. A 500-kronor banknote with the same portrait was printed 1989–2000. This banknote became invalid after 31 December 2005. A more secure version with the same portrait was introduced in 2001 and became invalid after 30 June 2017. The banknote had some controversy in 1985 because of the executions of "Snapphane" guerrilla warriors that King Charles XI ordered.
The first two designs of 1,000-kronor banknotes became invalid on 31 December 1987. The third design with portrait of King Charles XIV John and Jöns Jacob Berzelius and declared invalid on 31 December 1998. In preparation for retirement of the 10,000-kronor banknotes a new 1,000-kronor banknotes was printed from 1989 to 1991 with a portrait of Gustav Vasa and on the reverse a harvest picture from Olaus Magnus's Description of the Northern Peoples from 1555. Circulation peaked at over 48 million in 2001.
On 15 March 2006, the Riksbank introduced a new, more secure 1,000-kronor banknote with the same portrait and the Riksbank became the first central bank in the world to use the security feature of MOTION on the new 1,000-kronor banknote. When the banknote is tilted, the picture in the striped band appears to move. The Vasa banknote without security thread became invalid after 31 December 2013 at which time there was only 10 million in circulation. The Vasa banknotes with the security thread became invalid after 30 June 2016 at which time there was under 4 million in circulation. Replacement banknotes featuring Dag Hammarskjöld became valid on 1 October 2015, but were circulated in considerably fewer quantities, thus reducing the supply of cash in Sweden.
The 10,000 krona banknote was always printed in small quantities as it was one of the most valuable banknotes in the world. The first design featuring the Head of Mercury was printed in 1939 and became invalid after 31 December 1987. The second design was printed 1958 and featured a portrait of Gustav VI Adolf, and became invalid after 31 December 1991.
Invalid banknotes can be redeemed via the Riksbank, with an administration fee of 200 kronor.