Exchange rates, silver mark in mark penningar 1291-1540

By Bo Franzén and Johan Söderberg 

The silver content of the Swedish mark (mark penningar) was gradually reduced during the course of the Middle Ages. This was manifested as an increasing exchange rate between the Swedish mark and the silver mark (mark lödig). The silver mark apparently was a stable monetary unit. One silver mark is here, as in previous research, assumed to comprise 210.6 grams of silver (Heckscher 1968, p. 62; Franzén & Söderberg 2006).

The debasement of the Swedish mark took place over a long time. People were aware that the silver content of the coins often was reduced. Therefore, they often specified the exchange ratio between the currency actually used and the stable silver mark that was to be applied in each particular transaction. For instance, a when a farm was sold in 1518 for 120 marks, the seller and the buyer agreed that this sum was to be paid in Swedish marks “so good that 16 of them make up one silver mark” (Forssell 1872, p. 24 n 2). The exchange rate between the Swedish mark and the silver mark thus was 16:1 in this case.

The exchange rate between the Swedish mark and the silver mark is estimated. Nearly all of these rates are market rates: they refer to the actual exchange rate (such as the one mentioned above in connection with the farm sale in 1518), not to the actual silver content of the Swedish mark coins. During the period 1521-1540, however, market rates are uncommon and most rates derive from calculations of the silver content of the Swedish mark (as given by Forssell 1872, pp. 90-91). For some years, exchange rates are not available, and missing values have been interpolated.

The calculation of the silver price of various goods before 1540 can be made based on these exchange rates. One example: in 1346, the price of an ox was 3 Swedish marks. At the same time, the exchange rate of the Swedish mark to the silver mark was 5. One Swedish mark thus was exchanged for 210.6/5 = 42.1 grams of silver. The silver price of this ox thus equals (3/5)*210.6 = 126.4 grams of silver.

List of variables and their definitions:

Reference

Forssell, Hans, Anteckningar om mynt, vigt, matt och varupris i Sverige under de för26162sta femtio åren af Vasahusets regering, Stockholm: Norstedts 1872

Franzén, Bo & Söderberg, Johan (2006), “Svenska spannmålspriser under medeltiden i ett europeiskt perspektiv”, Historisk tidskrift, vol. 126:2, 189-214

Heckscher, Eli F. (1968), Svenskt arbete och liv, femte upplagan, Stockholm: Aldus/Bonniers