Swedish "plate money" made of copper is one of the strangest types of coinage. The rectangular plate coins were struck from 1644 to 1776 in values from half a thaler to ten thalers. The reason copper was used as coin metal was the chronic lack of silver in Sweden. On the other hand, the country had rich copper deposits in the area around Falun.
The plate coins' unusual size is due to the value of copper being far below that of silver. And yet the material value had to correspond to the face value of the coins. So to have the same buying power, a copper coin had to be much larger and heavier than a silver one. The plate coin on display here weighs an impressive 2.9 kilogrammes.
The stamp in the middle of the plate tells us that this weight equalled the value of four silver thalers. The stamps in the four corners identify the minting authority, in this instance King Frederick the First of Sweden, and give the year in which the coin was struck, 1735. Because of their size and weight, most plate coins weren't suitable for everyday use in payment transactions. In 1644 a ten thaler plate coin weighed a considerable 19.7 kilogrammes, while a single copper coin worth half a thaler still weighed in at almost 400 grammes.
Many of these plate coins were put on deposit at banks. In 1661, the money invested at Johan Palmstruch's private bank in Stockholm formed the basis for the issue of Europe's first official bank notes. But that's another, although equally fascinating chapter in the history of money.
Further Media
- Material & Technique
- Copper, embossed, rectangular, one-sided, trimmed
- Museum
- Münzkabinett
- Location & Dating
- 1735
- Inventory number
- 1982/10