Scandinavian
kronor

Many countries that had linked their currency to silver switched to gold in the 1860s. Sweden, Norway and Denmark decided to introduce a common Scandinavian currency at the same time as this switchover. The three countries’ coins were already flowing fairly freely across their borders, and much of the small change being used in Skåne was Danish.

In 1873 a monetary union was established between Sweden and Denmark (including Iceland). Norway joined in 1875. The new, common currency became the 1 krona, which was comprised of 100 öre. The coins had to contain the same pre-agreed amount of gold.

The coins’ appearance differed in the three countries but the coins were valid in all three countries. From 1901 the countries’ banks also accepted each other’s notes, which were of equal value.This monetary union survived the crisis when Norway broke out of its political union with Sweden in 1905, and continued to exist until World War I. When war began in 1914, the governments declared that people could no longer exchange the coins and banknotes for gold. Without this being the intention, the monetary union began to crumble.

The coins became worth different amounts and in 1924 the union was officially dissolved. However, in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland the currency is still called the krona (with variant spellings).