Swedish riksdaler

The Svenska riksdaler (Swedish pronunciation: [rɪksˈdɑːlɛr]) was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar, was named after the German Thaler. The similarly named Reichsthaler, rijksdaalder, and rigsdaler were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, the Netherlands, and Denmark-Norway, respectively. Riksdaler is still used as a colloquial term for krona, Sweden's modern-day currency.

The daler was introduced in 1534. It was initially intended for international use and was divided into 4 marks and then a mark is further subdivided into 8 öre and then an öre is further subdivided into 24 pennings. In 1604, the name was changed to riksdaler ("daler of the realm", cf. Reichsthaler). In 1609, the riksdaler rose to a value of 6 mark when the other Swedish coins were debased but the riksdaler remained constant.

From 1624, daler were issued in copper as well as silver. Because of the low value of copper, large plate money (plåtmynt) was issued. These were rectangular pieces of copper weighing in some cases several kilograms, with the largest one worth 10 daler and weighing almost 20 kilograms (44 lb)). They circulated until 1776. As silver became scarce, the silver daler rose in value relative to the copper daler, with the exchange rate between the two eventually being set at a ratio of three to one. Denominations in copper money were marked K.M. or KMT, with S.M. or SMT denoting silver money.

The cumbersome size and weight of plate money eventually prompted Sweden to become the first country in Europe to issue banknotes. These were issued by Stockholms Banco in 1661. The notes lost much of their value due to over production but succeeded in alleviating the immediate problem. They were issued until 1667. In 1681, the silver daler was debased,^{[citation needed]} so that one riksdaler became equal to two silver dalers. A further debasement in 1712 resulted in one riksdaler equalling three silver daler. At the end of July 1768 the heavy plate money was abolished but reintroduced on 4 August out of need.

The wreck of the Nicobar is the source of many examples of plate money in the modern period.

In 1776, a new currency system was announced, which came into use at the beginning of 1777. The new currency was based on the riksdaler subdivided into 48 skilling (worth two old öre, sometimes spelled schilling with the plural schillingar), with each skilling further subdivided into 12 rundstycken. Copper coins were halved in value and only the most recent silver coins retained their face values.

The new currency was issued in banknotes (fiat money) and silver and copper coins. At first, only the Riksens Ständers Wexel-Banco (the Bank of the Riksdag of the Estates) could issue banknotes but, in 1789, the Riksgälds Kontor (Swedish National Debt Office) was established and given the right to issue its own banknotes. The riksdaler specie was minted in silver, the riksdaler banco was issued by the Bank and the riksdaler riksgälds was issued by the Debt Office. Both the Bank and Debt Office issued copper coins.

The riksdaler specie was minted in 25.5 g fine silver and corresponded to the Reichsthaler specie (or rigsdaler specie) used in the rest of Scandinavia and Northern Germany. In contrast, the banknotes suffered heavily from a seigniorage induced inflation. In 1803, the values of the two paper moneys were tied, with 1 riksdaler banco = 1+1⁄2 riksdaler riksgälds. In 1830, the exchange rate to the silver coinage was also fixed, with 1 riksdaler specie = 2+2⁄3 riksdaler banco = 4 riksdaler riksgälds. The value of the copper coins of the Riksens Ständers Wexel-Banco fell (relative to silver) in line with the bank's paper money. Thus, from 1830, there were 128 bank skilling to the riksdaler specie and these became the new standard subdivision of the riksdaler specie in 1834, carrying the name skilling banco.