In Sweden currency in current use today is called Krona (plural, Kronor). Sweden is in the EU, but unlike most of the other countries in this union, it has not yet adopted the Euro. In currency exchange terms, where the world's currencies are identified by three letters, the Sweden currency is identified by SEK for Sweden Krona.
Krona means crown, and it is an old name of currency that was once common in many European countries. Britain had crowns too, and until decimalization in the early 1970s, the half-crown was a commonly used coin in the UK.
The Sweden currency of one Krona is made up of 100 ore. However, because the Krona is not a large amount of money (approximately 0.16 USD or 0.10 Euro), the smallest coin in use in Sweden currency has a value of 50 ore. They also have 1, 5 and 10 Kronor coins. Sweden currency bank notes start at 20 Kronor, and go up through 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 Kronor notes.
The Scandinavian Monetary Union of 1873 saw the introduction of the Krona. At this time the three Scandinavian countries - Norway, Denmark and Sweden - all agreed to share one currency, the Krona, or Krone as it they spell it in Denmark and Norway.
The Scandinavian Monetary Union was fairly short-lived, lasting only until the First World War. When the Union was dissolved, each of the countries chose to keep the name of the currency, rather than go back to what they had used before.
Prior to the Krona, the Sweden currency was called the Riksdaler. Before that it had been the Mark. It was in the 17th century that Sweden, no longer in control of precious metal mines, introduced a copper-based currency alongside their existing silver-based currency.
The copper coins were supposed to have the same face value as the silver ones, but the population didn't really trust them. If you bought something in copper you were expected to receive your change in copper. The same went for silver, and in this way the two systems, while nominally the same value, drifted apart.
At one time in an effort to stabilize the copper economy, Christina, daughter of Gustavus II, introduced copper slabs with the idea that they would have the actual value they represented. Some of the slabs weighed over 15 kilograms! They were certainly awkward to handle, but the idea worked well enough until the world price of copper slumped.
The Swedes were asked in a referendum held in 2003 if they wanted to adopt the European Union Euro. They said "no!" The Sweden currency is strong and many of the people felt that changing things would harm the economy. Others wanted to retain their national identity and felt that adopting the Euro would dilute that effect.
Like most countries, the Sweden currency has had its ups and downs. However, unlike some of its neighbouring countries, the economy has remained very strong for a long time. It is likely that one day they will adopt the Euro, but for now the Sweden currency is firmly the Krona.
