2 Kronor (Gustaf II Adolf's death in Lützen) – Sweden

In 1932, Sweden was in the grip of the Great Depression, and its currency, the Swedish krona, was under severe strain. The country had returned to the gold standard in the 1920s, but the global economic collapse placed this commitment under intense pressure. As capital fled and foreign exchange reserves dwindled, the Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) was forced to raise interest rates sharply to defend the krona's gold parity, a move that deepened domestic deflation and unemployment.

The political response became a defining moment. In the autumn of 1932, a new Social Democratic government, led by Per Albin Hansson, took power. While initially committed to maintaining the gold standard to ensure stability, it faced a critical choice: continue orthodox policies to defend the currency or abandon gold to pursue reflationary economic policies aimed at combating the Depression. The situation reached a crisis point in late September, just after the election, when a major bank, Kreuger & Toll, collapsed, triggering further capital flight and exhausting the Riksbank's reserves.

Consequently, Sweden was forced to suspend the gold standard on September 27, 1932, following the lead of Great Britain, which had done so a year earlier. This decisive break from orthodox monetary policy freed the krona from its golden anchor, allowing it to depreciate. This devaluation, combined with the new government's expansionary fiscal policies, marked the beginning of Sweden's recovery and the establishment of its famous "folkhemmet" (People's Home) welfare model, making the currency crisis of 1932 a pivotal economic and political turning point.