Copper bottomed

We all complain about the money in our wallets- either, in my case, not having enough for more than a coffee, or generally because of the weight, feel, texture and appearance of it. 

In the UK in recent years we have seen the replacement of paper notes with plastic ones and a re-designed one pound coin. I accept the need to counter the counterfeiters particularly with what was an astounding number of fake monies in circulation but I have found that the new notes, in particular, just seem to make their own way out of my pocket and are lost on the street. 

I am old enough to remember the solid and heavy pre-decimalisation coinage in which there seemed to be a direct correlation of size and value. There was a certain magic in finding a sixpence in the Christmas Pud, a shilling under the pillow for a tooth and a chunky threepenny bit in your sticky palm on entering the sweet shop. 

Spare a thought then for the monetary dealings of the citizens of Sweden about three to four hundred years ago, a time when they certainly needed very deep and strong pockets indeed.

The 17^th and 18^th Centuries in Sweden saw a chronic shortage of silver and so copper came into use as the most suitable metal for the minting of coins.

The material value of coins was supposed to match their nominal value, and because silver was considerably lighter than copper, this resulted in large, heavy, plate coins. For example a bulky 14.4kg copper plate coin was in 1659 worth the equivalent of 8 silver or Daler coins. This value was validated by a heavy stamped legend in the middle or in each corner.

In addition to those with what was a nominal value of eight silver daler coins, copper plate coins were produced in other denominations, too. These denominations ranged from half a daler to ten daler. The majority of the plate coins were worth between two and four daler. 

Although the copper plates in smaller denominations were not as heavy as the eight daler plate coin , they were still too cumbersome to be used for everyday payments. 

You can imagine merchants, traders and the general public staggering around Swedish towns and villages under the weight of , in 1723, a four daler at just over 3 kg and even  half a daler, minted in 1742, at an impressive 394.65 g. 


For comparative purposes this lower denomination would still equate to  the weight of just over 52 one euro coins.

The sizes of plate coins depended at least partly on the traditional shapes and weights of copper bars. For example, the copper plate coins minted in 1644 with a nominal value of 10 silver daler weighed 19.72 kg, equivalent to exactly 2 lispund and 18 markpund, two commonly used units of weight in early modern Sweden. 

















The plate coins were therefore not just a means of payment, but could also be seen and used as tradeable goods. This dual role was clear to contemporaries and was discussed in 1643 by the Privy Council of Sweden before the first copper plate coins were introduced.

In practice, the way in which plate coins were used during the 17th and 18th centuries depended on the price of copper. If it was so high that the material value exceeded the nominal value of the copper plate coins, it was more lucrative to trade them as goods. Otherwise, they were used as legal tender.

However, not only are Swedish copper plate coins an important part of the history of money in and of themselves, they are also part of the early history of paper money in Europe. The logistical difficulties of paying with the heavy and cumbersome copper plate coins were one of the reasons, if not the most important, that Sweden was the first European country to introduce paper money as early as 1661. 
Even with this far sighted and much more conveniently portable currency the value was still backed by copper plate money deposited in the note-issuing bank. To their credit the Europeans had now also invented paper money – albeit several hundred years later than the Chinese.Sweden's experiment with paper money lasted just a few years after a credit policy that was too relaxed had brought too many banknotes into circulation in relation to the reserves of copper plate money. It was however enough to show what modern banking could look like and the heavy copper slabs were superceded by conventional coinage. The distinctive former currency units are still very desirable and are regularly found in the catalogues of coin auctions. There is also a very enthusiastic band of collectors. 

You can usually make them out from the crowd by the strange sagging appearance of their trouser pockets and a steely upper body which is a consequence of lugging around such a dead weight of base metal.