By Sveriges Riksbank….
On Monday, February 16, the Riksbank presented Sweden’s new banknotes and coins. For the first time, the media was given the possibility of seeing, feeling and tilting the printed banknotes and minted coins.
In 2015 and 2016, Sweden will gain new banknotes and coins. They will have a completely new appearance and there will be a new denomination: a 200-krona banknote. Sweden has not had a new banknote series for 30 years. In addition, a 2-krona coin will be issued again, for the first time since 1971. For the first time in modern Swedish history, all banknotes and coins will be changed, except for the 10-krona coin.
“Many years of preparatory work is now reaching its conclusion. Today, we are pleased to be able to present the new banknotes and coins which will provide Sweden with safe and efficient cash for many years to come. These banknotes will take us on an exciting cultural journey from Birgit Nilsson and the Öresund Bridge in the south to Dag Hammarskjöld and the Three-Country Cairn in the north”, said Stefan Ingves, Governor of Sveriges Riksbank.
An exciting cultural journey
The new banknotes are smaller than the current ones and have completely new motifs. On the obverse can be found some of Sweden’s foremost cultural personalities of the 20th century. On the reverse are natural and environmental motifs connected to the personalities. The banknotes have new security features providing better protection against counterfeiting. One new feature is that the banknotes can be tilted to check that they are genuine. This is because they have images that change colour and images that move and shift between motifs.
The new coins will be smaller and weigh half as much as the present ones. In addition, they are completely nickel-free. The coins have King Carl XVI Gustav on the obverse. A parallel theme is “sun, wind and water”. The 10-krona coin will remain unchanged.
The 20-, 50-, 200- and 1,000-krona banknotes will arrive in October this year, with the 100- and 500-krona banknotes and the coins arriving in October 2016.
