Scandinavian Monetary Union

Last updated
Scandinavian Monetary Union
  • Den Skandinaviske Møntunion (Danish)
  • Den skandinaviske myntunionen (Norwegian)
  • Skandinaviska Myntunionen (Swedish)
Two 20kr gold coins.png
Two golden 20 kr coins, with identical weight and composition. The coin to the left is Swedish and the right one is Danish.
Unit
Unitkrone/krona
Pluralkroner/kronor
Symbol kr.
Denominations
Subunit
1100 øre/öre
Plural
øre/öre øre/öre (singular and plural)
Coins1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 40, 50 øre
1, 2, 5, 10, 25 kroner
Demographics
User(s)Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Swedish civil ensign (1844-1905).svg  Sweden
Norge-Unionsflagg-1844.svg  Norway
Issuance
Central bank Danmarks Nationalbank, Skandinaviska Banken, Norges Bank, Sveriges Riksbank
Valuation
Pegged with Gold standard
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

The Scandinavian Monetary Union was a monetary union formed by Denmark and Sweden on 5 May 1873, with Norway joining in 1875. It established a common currency unit, the krone/krona, based on the gold standard. It was one of the few tangible results of the Scandinavian political movement of the 19th century. The union ended during World War I. [1]

Contents

Overview

The original Scandinavian currencies were based on the silver Reichsthaler, defined by the Hamburg Bank as 25.28 grams fine silver, which was equal to one Norwegian speciedaler or two Danish rigsdaler. Sweden's riksdaler specie was slightly heavier at 25.5 g and was equal to four Swedish riksdaler riksgalds.

The Scandinavian switch to the gold standard was triggered by Germany's adoption of the German gold mark in 1873 and of the consequent disturbance in the silver market. The monetary union established the gold krone (krona in Swedish) replacing the legacy currencies at the rate of 1 krone = 1 Swedish riksdaler = 12 Danish rigsdaler = 14 Norwegian speciedaler = 14 Hamburg reichsthaler. The latter's conversion to 4.50 German gold marks (hence, 1 krone = 1.125 marks) established the gold parity of the krone: one gram of fine gold worth 2.79 marks was equivalent to 2.48 krone (or 0.4032 g gold per krone). [2]

The British pound (the "world currency" of the time) was equal to 18.16 kroner, [3] and the franc of France and the Latin Monetary Union was worth 0.72 krone. Sweden's long-established tradition of using paper currency eased the implementation of a Gold Exchange Standard wherein gold coins rarely circulated but the respective central banks (the Sveriges Riksbank, Danmarks Nationalbank and Norges Bank) centralized their respective gold reserves and guaranteed the conversion of krone banknotes to gold for export purposes.

The union provided fixed exchange rates and stability in monetary terms, but the member countries continued to issue their own separate currencies. Although not initially foreseen, the perceived security led to a situation where the formally separate currencies were accepted on a basis of "as good as" the legal tender virtually throughout the entire area.

Upon acceding to the union, Sweden had the name of its currency changed from Riksdaler Riksmynt to Swedish krona. The word "krone/krona" literally means "crown", and the differences in spelling of the name represent the differences between the North Germanic languages.

The political union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved in 1905, but this did not affect the basis for co-operation in the monetary union.

All three countries still use the same currencies as during the monetary union, but they lost their peg, one to one, in 1914. The Icelandic króna is a derivative of the Danish krone, established after Iceland was elevated to a separate kingdom in union with Denmark in 1918. Iceland cut its ties to Denmark in 1944 and became a republic. The Icelandic króna soon became volatile, causing a high inflation and in 1980 a currency reform was introduced, in which 1 new Icelandic króna was set to 100 original ones. [4]

The Scandinavian Monetary Union was inspired by the Latin Monetary Union, established in 1865. [5] As Scandinavia became industrialized, a call for a firm monetary system had risen in the 1860s. The idea of using a foreign currency was discussed, but as the old dividing of the British Pound was similar to what Scandinavia wished to get rid of, the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War made the French Franc less attractive and as the German Mark was out of the question in Denmark after the 1864 Second Schleswig War, the idea of a Scandinavian Monetary system based on the Gold standard was imposed 1873 to 1875. [6] The union was dissolved gradually from the outbreak of World War One until 1924, when the union formally was dissolved. [7] Nevertheless, the 1:1:1 banknote rate continued at least until the economical crisis in the early 1930s. [8]

Whether the Scandinavian Monetary Union was a success has been a subject of discussion. Some experts observe it functioned best between 1901 and 1905, at which point it was a complete system of coin, banknotes and common drawing rights available to the central banks. Although it was effective in its own limited monetary terms, the Union, however, was only of minor importance in the total foreign relations of the member countries. Moreover, the trade between the member countries composed only a small part of their total trade, a share that was in decline during the lifetime of the Union. The monetary union was never accompanied by a tariff union as well. This stresses its partial nature - it never formed a vital part of these countries' international economic relations. [9] Other experts take a more positive view, arguing that no other politically independent countries went equally far in their monetary integration. From an international perspective, it was the most successful of all monetary unions during the time of the classic gold standard. [10]

See also

Economics

Banks

Currencies before the union

Currencies during and after the union

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish krona</span> Currency of Sweden

The krona is the currency of the Kingdom of Sweden. It is one of the currencies of the European Union. 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. The Swedish krona was the ninth-most traded currency in the world by value in April 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thaler</span> Large silver coin used in 16th- to 19th-century Europe

A thaler or taler is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A thaler size silver coin has a diameter of about 40 mm and a weight of about 25 to 30 grams. The word is shortened from Joachimsthaler, the original thaler coin minted in Joachimsthal, Bohemia, from 1520.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwegian krone</span> National currency of Norway

The krone, plural kroner, is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway. It was traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English, however, this has fallen out of common usage. It is nominally subdivided into 100 øre, although the last coins denominated in øre were withdrawn in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icelandic króna</span> Currency of Iceland

The króna or krona is the currency of Iceland. Iceland is the fifth-smallest country by population, after Vanuatu, Barbados, Tonga and the Seychelles, to have its own currency and monetary policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish riksdaler</span> Pre-1873 currency unit in Sweden

The svenska riksdaler 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish National Debt Office</span>

The Swedish National Debt Office was founded by Gustav III at the Riksdag of the Estates in 1789, through the Act of union and security. It is a Swedish Government agency. The first task of the Debt Office was to finance the ongoing War against Russia.

The monetary policy of Sweden is decided by Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden. The monetary policy is instrumental in determining how the Swedish currency is valued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danish krone</span> Official currency of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands

The krone is the official currency of Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, introduced on 1 January 1875. Both the ISO code "DKK" and currency sign "kr." are in common use; the former precedes the value, the latter in some contexts follows it. The currency is sometimes referred to as the Danish crown in English, since krone literally means crown. Historically, krone coins have been minted in Denmark since the 17th century.

Öre is the centesimal subdivision of the Swedish krona. In the Swedish language, the plural of öre is either öre or ören.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norges Bank</span> Central bank of Norway

Norges Bank / Noregs Bank is the central bank of Norway. The bank shall promote economic stability in Norway. Norges Bank also manages the Government Pension Fund of Norway and the bank's own foreign exchange reserves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faroese króna</span> Currency of the Faroe Islands

The króna is the currency of the Faroe Islands. It is issued by Danmarks Nationalbank, the central bank of Denmark. It is not a separate currency, but is rather a local issue of banknotes denominated in the Danish krone, although Danish-issued coins are still used. Consequently, it does not have an ISO 4217 currency code and instead shares that of the Danish krone, DKK. This means that in the Faroe Islands, credit cards are charged in Danish kroner. The króna is subdivided into 100 oyru(r).

<i>Reichsthaler</i> Formerly used coinage

The Reichsthaler, or more specifically the Reichsthaler specie, was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the next 300 years, and containing 25–26 grams fine silver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danish rigsdaler</span> Former currency of Denmark

The rigsdaler was the name of several currencies used in Denmark until 1875. The similarly named Reichsthaler, riksdaler and rijksdaalder were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively. These currencies were often anglicized as rix-dollar or rixdollar.

The skilling was the Scandinavian equivalent of the shilling. It was used as a subdivision of the various kinds of currencies named rigsdaler in use throughout Scandinavia, including the Danish rigsdaler, the Norwegian rigsdaler, and the Swedish riksdaler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweden and the euro</span> Overview of the relationship between Sweden and the euro

Sweden does not currently use the euro as its currency and has no plans to replace the existing Swedish krona in the near future. Sweden's Treaty of Accession of 1994 made it subject to the Treaty of Maastricht, which obliges states to join the eurozone once they meet the necessary conditions. Sweden maintains that joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II, participation in which for at least two years is a requirement for euro adoption, is voluntary, and has chosen to remain outside pending public approval by a referendum, thereby intentionally avoiding the fulfilment of the adoption requirements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denmark and the euro</span> Overview of the relationship between Denmark and the euro

Denmark uses the krone as its currency and does not use the euro, having negotiated the right to opt out from participation under the Maastricht Treaty of 1992. In 2000, the government held a referendum on introducing the euro, which was defeated with 53.2% voting no and 46.8% voting yes. The Danish krone is part of the ERM II mechanism, so its exchange rate is tied to within 2.25% of the euro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwegian rigsdaler</span> Former Norwegian currency

The rigsdaler specie was a unit of silver currency used in Norway from 1544, renamed as the speciedaler in 1816 and used until 1873. Norway used a common reichsthaler currency system shared with Denmark, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein until 1873 when the gold standard was implemented in Scandinavia and the German Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenlandic krone</span> Planned currency for Greenland which was abandoned in 2009

The Greenlandic krone was a planned currency for Greenland, plans of which were abandoned in 2009. The same name is often used for currency issued during Greenland's time as a Danish colony. The name krone is derived from the Danish krone, introduced in an 1873 currency reform that replaced Danish mark and skilling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danish state bankruptcy of 1813</span> Economic crisis after the Napoleonic wars

The Danish state bankruptcy of 1813 was a domestic economic crisis that began in January 1813 and had consequential effects until 1818. As Denmark-Norway struggled with the financial burden that the Napoleonic Wars had on the economy, the devaluation of the currency had negative effects on merchants, citizens and businesses alike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sveriges Riksbank</span> Central bank of Sweden

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References

  1. Rongved, Gjermund Forfang (2017-09-02). "The Gold War: the dissolution of the Scandinavian Currency Union during the First World War". Scandinavian Economic History Review. 65 (3): 243–262. doi:10.1080/03585522.2017.1364292. ISSN   0358-5522. S2CID   158598433.
  2. The Danish National Bank: From silver standard to gold standard Archived 2013-11-03 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Historia.se - historisk statistik på nätet" . Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  4. "Isländsk krona - Sidor [1] - World uppslagsverk kunskap".
  5. BBC
  6. Lars Jonung (former Professor of the Swedish Trading School, Stockholm), https://www.nationalekonomi.se/filer/pdf/31-4-lj.pdf, pdf-page 2 (of 8)
  7. Lars Jonung, https://www.nationalekonomi.se/filer/pdf/31-4-lj.pdf, pdf-page 5 (of 8)
  8. "Söndagstidningen Södra Sverige", 16. December 1926, page with exchange rates
  9. "International Monetary Systems in Historical Perspective",Niels Kærgård and Ingrid Henriksen, 1995, publisher Palgrave Macmillan, London, ISBN   9781349242221, page 109, doi : 10.1007/978-1-349-24220-7_5
  10. Lars Jonung, https://www.nationalekonomi.se/filer/pdf/31-4-lj.pdf, pdf-page 4 (of 8)

Further reading