Swedish Krona (SEK)

The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Designated as ‘kr’ or the ISO 4217 code SEK, the krona is sometimes referred to as the Swedish crown, following the definition of the word ‘krona.’

The kr symbol precedes numerals in currency designations, such as kr100, and the SEK code follows numbers, as in 5000 SEK.

The krona is a decimal-based system and has its lowest increment as the öre, either as singular or plural, when the overall currency is meant, but it is noted as ören when specific units or amounts are intended. However, all öre coins were discontinued as of 30 September 2010. Item or service prices can still be designated as ören, but the price is rounded to the nearest krona in cash transactions.

The 1 and 2 öre coins were discontinued in 1971. The 5 and 25 öre coins were stopped in 1984, and the 10 öre coin was discontinued in 1991. The composites of the 10 and 50 öre coins were changed in 1991 to aluminium-brass and bronze-coloured coins, respectively. However, in 2009, the Swedish government discontinued production of both coins in 2009, and no öre coins were considered legal tender since October 2010.

Coins in circulation include the kr1, kr5 and kr10. Also considered legal tender are all kr2 coins issued since 1876. These coins are not often seen in circulation and highly coveted by coin collectors.

Banknotes carry higher denominations than the kronor coins. The kr1 note was initially introduced in 1874 along with the 5, 10, 50 and100 notes. The kr1 was discontinued after only two years, however. The 1000 note was introduced in 2006. The kr5 note was recalled in 1981, and the kr10 note was discontinued in 1991 with the introduction of an equal-valued coin.

Other banknote and coin denominations were introduced and discontinued throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. The current banknote series encompasses the 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 kronor notes in common circulation. Larger denominations exist but are held in federal reserves and not on the open market.

The relative value of the krona has changed over time, depending on the currency valuation method Sweden used. Since November of 1992, Sweden has used a managed float valuation system that has shown approximate parity with the euro until 2008. Since that time until early 2011, the krona lost approximately 20 percent of its SEK-EUR value. The 2011 value fluctuation of the euro, however, has caused the krona to disassociate itself from relative value parity in foreign exchange markets.

Sweden will eventually have to release the krona as its national currency, however, and adopt the euro in accordance with the 1995 accession treaty the country signed when the euro was adopted by the Eurozone.