History of copper currency in Sweden

The Swedish Empire had the greatest and most numerous copper mines in Europe as it entered into its pre-eminence in the early 17th century as an emerging Great Power.

Through poor fiscal policies and the First Treaty of Älvsborg, Sweden lost control of its reserves of precious metals, primarily silver, of which most had left to the burgeoning trade economy of Amsterdam.

In 1607 the Swedish King Charles IX attempted to persuade the populace to exchange their silver-based currency for a copper-based coin of equal face value, though this offer was not generally taken up.

The face value of the circulating copper coins now greatly exceeded the reserves of the state and production of the national economy, so the value of the currency quickly fell to its commodity value.

When Gustavus' daughter and heir Christina reached maturity at 18, after a brief fling with paper-based money backed by copper—which was well received initially but soon lost credibility—she began issuing copper in plates as large as fifteen kilograms to serve as currency.