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SWEDISH PLATE MONEY

Virginia M. Hall Editor Emeritus CSNA LM 26-02

Legal copper coins were first minted in Sweden in 1624. While copper coins were struck prior to that date, for example John III 2 ore 1573, they were given a very thin coat of silver plating and issued as silver coins.

This copper coinage was started by the great lack of silver which prevailed in the country because of the considerable quantities of silver required for the liquidation of a debt to Denmark. Sweden was bound by the treaty of Knared to pay war damages to Denmark in the amount of a million riksdalers specie, within a period of six years. As a pledge, Denmark took over the Fortress of Alvsborg together with several towns, including the town now known as Gottenberg, the seaport town of all Atlantic travel. What this meant to the Swedish government can best be understood by a comparison of the value of goods in those days. For a riksdaler, one could buy 26 pounds of butter or four bushels of rye. You could get a full grown ox for three riksdalers.

King Gustavus Adolphus called the payment of this debt "the consuming cancer of the country" and when it was finally paid in full the country was exhausted of silver to such a degree that even the table silver of the king had to be sent to the mint.

At the same time the silver was thus exported to pay the debt, the silver mines began to make less money for the realm. On the other hand, the copper mine at Falum became of increasing importance as a means of finance. Royal order stopped all export of black copper by private persons, except by payment of a tax.

All this formed the background for the commencement of the copper coinage in Sweden:

The country suffered from want of silver,

An increase in coinage of silver would have increased purchases abroad, King would have had to reduce the standard of silver currency, resulting in sudden rise of market prices.

Solution lay in copper coinage

There was an abundance of copper in the country.

The smallest coins, the so-called billion silver coins, all coinage in those days had to be of full value. Each piece of money was deemed, therefore to contain metal in the value corresponding to the face value, regardless of the metal used. Under such circumstances, the idea of substituting copper for the main currency was not farfetched.

In the year 1644 the idea of the main monetary denomination in copper was realized by the manufacture of the first piece of plate money in the value of 10 Swedish dalers. This lasted one year and stopped. Then in 1649 coinage was resumed, the highest being only 8 dalers and 4, 2 and 1 dalers. This continued without any long break until 1759 which is the last date appearing on plate money although the coinage was continued until 1776 with the use of dies of earlier years.

½ Daler, Carl XII, 1715

Carl XII ruled 1697-1718

Actual size of coin: about 4X 3 ½ inches.

"½ Daler" means ½ dollar on silver standard.

"S. M." stands for "silver money".

The corners are "clipped" to get the correct weight.