Sweden plan a new banknotes and coins design that will be issued in around 2014-2015. Astrid Lindgren, Evert Taube, Greta Garbo, Ingmar Bergman, Birgit Nilsson and Dag Hammarskjöld will be the motifs on Sweden’s new banknotes. This is the decision of the General Council of the Riksbank. The new coins will continue to have Sweden’s head of state as motif. The General Council of the Riksbank has also decided on the sizes, materials and colours of the new banknotes and coins. A design competition for the banknotes will be held by the Riksbank this month.
German Stamp of Greta Garbo
“The General Council has chosen people who have made positive and im-portant contributions to Sweden’s cultural heritage during the 20th century. We believe that the new motifs reflect Sweden’s cultural heritage and different parts of our country in a positive and representative way,” say Johan Gernandt and Leif Pagrotsky, Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively of the General Council. “Of course, achieving an equal balance between women and men has also been important.”
In the selection of motif, the General Council of the Riksbank decided that the persons concerned should have lived and worked during the 20th century, should be popular with the general public and, preferably, should also be well-known internationally. They should also represent different parts of Sweden.
Facts about Sweden's new banknotes:
Each banknote will consist of a portrait and a nature/environment motif. The nature motif has a clear link to the person portrayed on each banknote:
- 20 krona-Astrid Lindgren-Småland
- 50 krona-Evert Taube-Bohuslän
- 100 krona-Greta Garbo-Stockholm
- 200 krona-Ingmar Bergman-Gotland
- 500 krona-Birgit Nilsson-Skåne
- 1,000 krona-Dag Hammarskjöld-Lappland
The new banknotes will be made of cotton and will be smaller than the current ones. The height of all denominations will be 66 mm, while the length will vary between 120 and 154 mm. The colours of the banknotes will be grey-brown (1,000 krona), red (500 krona), green (200 krona), blue (100 krona), yel-low/orange (50 krona) and purple (20 krona). The banknotes will be equipped with special features in intaglio print for the visually impaired. The notes will also be equipped with new security details, one for the lower denominations of 20 and 50 krona and two for the higher denominations.
All banknotes will be equipped with a new security feature, “Spark”, which is a colour-shifting ink. The colour shifts when the banknote is tilted. Special pigments in the ink give a three-dimensional visual image in the printing. Moreover, the higher denominations, that is, the 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 krona notes will have a further security feature known as “Motion”, which is a window thread with micro-lenses embedded into the banknote paper. The thread gives the impression of motion when the banknote is tilted. This feature is already used on the most recent version of the 1,000-krona banknote.
The 1-krona, 2-krona and 5-krona coins will be smaller and lighter than the current coins, while the 10-krona coin will be kept unchanged. The 1-krona and 2-krona coins will be made of copper-plated steel, while the 5-krona and 10-krona coins will be made of the alloy Nordic gold. The edges of the coins will be milled to assist the visually impaired. As regards the graphic design of the coins, the Riksbank’s coin supplier will submit proposals that the General Council will then decide upon.
All of the coins apart from the 10-krona coin will have a new size and material. The 10-krona will remain unchanged. The theme of the coins will be “Sweden’s head of state”. In addition to the denomination of the coins, they will also contain the text ”Sverige” (Sweden) and the year of issue, the initials of the designer and the Governor of Sveriges Riksbank, and the first letter of the name of the place they are issued. Moreover, the lesser coat of arms may be used on the coins. The 1-krona and 2-krona coins are made of copper-plated steel, that is, they consist of a core of steel and a thin outer layer of copper. The 5-krona and 10-krona coins are made of Nordic gold, which is made of almost 90 per cent copper.
