1715 - Emergency coins fund the war

The wars during the reign of Charles XII cost a lot of money. To fund them, more than 40 million emergency coins were issued. The round copper coins had different inscriptions such as "Jupiter", "Mars" and "Flink och färdig" (quick and ready).

Charles XII reigned 1697–1718 and the many wars in this period drained the royal treasury. The emergency coins issued were not intrinsic value coins but instead credit coins. This meant that the value of the coin corresponded with the amount stated on it, instead of the earlier system in which it corresponded to the value of the metal in the coin. People were not used to this concept and were thus unwilling to accept the new means of payment.

The coins bore various inscriptions, with the very last one, issued just after the king's death, bearing the word "Hoppet" (hope).