The krona (Swedish: [ˈkruːˈna]; plural: kronor; sign: kr; code: SEK) has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; 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 literally means crown in Swedish. The Swedish krona was the 11th most traded currency in the world by value in April 2013.

One krona is subdivided into 100 öre (singular and plural; when referring to the currency unit itself, however, the plural definite form is ören). However, all öre coins have been discontinued as of 30 September 2010. Goods can still be priced in öre, but all sums are rounded to the nearest krona when paying with cash.

History

The introduction of the krona, which replaced at par the riksdaler, was a result of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which came into effect in 1873 and lasted until World War I. The parties to the union were the Scandinavian countries, where the name was krona in Sweden and krone in Denmark and Norway, which in English literally means "crown". The three currencies were on the gold standard, with the krona/krone defined as ¹⁄₂₄₈₀ of a kilogram of pure gold.

The Swedish Crown, also known as the "Purchased Crown", was a part of the Polish Crown Jewels.

History

The crown was made for King Sigismund II Augustus. After King's death it was pawned to Giovanni Tudesco and later ransomed by King Sigismund III Vasa for 20,000 florins and used for his coronation in Uppsala as the King of Sweden on February 19, 1594.

In 1623 King Sigismund III bequeathed it to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and it was included in the State Treasury at the Wawel Castle after king's death in 1633.

The appearance of the crown was a type of corona clausa, consisting of five larger and five smaller parts (portiones maiores quinque, minores quinque) and 262 precious stones, including 24 emeralds, 64 rubies, 30 sapphires, 21 diamonds and 123 pearls. In the 18th century the crown was depicted in the portrait of Sigismund I the Old by Marcello Bacciarelli, painted to embellish the Marble Room at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

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