Surge, retraction and prices: the performance of fiat coins in Sweden, c. 1715–1720

IF 0.4 Q3 HISTORY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Financial History Review Pub Date : 2020-05-22 DOI:10.1017/S0968565020000049

Peter Ericsson, Patrik Winton

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Abstract

From 1716 to 1718, Sweden experienced a shock of liquidity when the absolutist regime of Charles XII issued large amounts of fiat coins (mynttecken) in order to finance the Great Northern War. After the death of the king in November 1718, the new parliamentary regime decided to partially default on the coins. In international literature, this episode is largely unknown, and in Swedish historiography, scholars have often claimed that the country's currency collapsed in hyperinflation. We assess the performance of the new coins by studying how prices of commodities in various geographic locations developed. We also study bookkeeping practices in order to see how accountants treated the new coins. Our results show that there was a complex relationship between prices and liquidity. Prices of products in high demand by the military increased more than other prices. Accountants did not treat mynttecken and other currencies differently in 1718. It was only after the death of the king that accountants started to differentiate between different types of coins. The value of the fiat coins was linked to the actions and the legitimacy of the royal regime, which is in line with the State theory of money.

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激增、收回和价格：瑞典法定货币的表现，约1715-1720年

1716年至1718年，当查理十二世的专制政权发行大量法定货币（mynttecken）为大北方战争提供资金时，瑞典经历了流动性的冲击。1718年11月国王去世后，新的议会政权决定部分拖欠硬币。在国际文献中，这一事件在很大程度上是未知的，而在瑞典史学中，学者们经常声称该国的货币在恶性通货膨胀中崩溃。我们通过研究不同地理位置的商品价格如何发展来评估新硬币的性能。我们还研究了记账实践，以了解会计师如何处理新硬币。我们的研究结果表明，价格和流动性之间存在着复杂的关系。军方需求量大的产品价格比其他价格涨幅更大。1718年，会计师们没有区别对待缅特克肯和其他货币。直到国王去世后，会计们才开始区分不同类型的硬币。法定货币的价值与王室政权的行为和合法性有关，这符合国家货币理论。

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来源期刊

Financial History Review HISTORY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES-

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1.00

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0.00%

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期刊介绍： Financial History Review is the international forum for all scholars with interests in the development of banking, finance, and monetary matters. Its editors deliberately seek to embrace the broadest approach to publishing research findings within this growing historical specialism. Articles address all aspects of financial and monetary history, including technical and theoretical approaches, those derived from cultural and social perspectives and the interrelations between politics and finance. These presentations of current research are complemented by somewhat shorter pieces, specifically conceived as aids to research. Each issue contains a substantial review section, and every complete volume contains an annual bibliography.