½ Daler SM – Sweden

In 1719, Sweden was grappling with a severe monetary crisis rooted in the Great Northern War (1700–1721). To finance the protracted and costly conflict, the state had resorted to debasing the currency, notably through the introduction of copper plate money (plåtmynt) and by minting excessive amounts of lower-quality silver coins. This practice, combined with the economic devastation of war-torn territories and disrupted trade, led to rampant inflation and a catastrophic loss of confidence in the currency. The value of the Swedish riksdaler in relation to international currencies plummeted, causing widespread economic hardship and complicating both state finances and everyday commerce.

The situation was further exacerbated by the death of the absolutist monarch Charles XII in 1718, which plunged the nation into a period of political uncertainty. The newly empowered Riksdag of the Estates, operating under the nascent Age of Liberty, faced the immense task of stabilizing the economy amidst a power struggle. Different factions debated solutions, but the immediate problem was a chaotic monetary system with multiple circulating forms of coinage at wildly fluctuating values, making price stability impossible.

Consequently, 1719 became a pivotal year of reckoning. The government, recognizing that the currency was fundamentally broken, began serious preparations for a major monetary reform. This work would culminate in the transformative 1726 reform, which established a new silver standard based on the riksdaler specie and successfully restored stability. Thus, the background of 1719 is one of a nation emerging from absolutist war policy into a parliamentary era, confronting the dire financial consequences of its past and laying the necessary groundwork for future recovery.