Welcome back to the fifth installment in the coin motto series on Pendant and Ring. Coin mottoes are brief, memorable phrases found on coins that reflect the sentiment of a nation or empire during a particular era. Today’s motto comes from Scandinavia, where a young king chose four simple words to define six decades on the throne: “Sverige I tiden,” or “For Sweden With the Times.”
Motto, Sverige I Tiden
From 1976 until the coin’s demonetization on June 30, 2017, the Swedish 1 krona featured the Swede’s crowned lesser coat of arms, featuring three coronets, two above one, with the King’s motto above and the denomination below. The obverse showed a stylized portrait of King Carl XVI Gustaf, his name and Sweden’s.
This motto is personal. When Carl XVI Gustaf ascended the throne in 1973 at just 27, succeeding his 90-year-old grandfather Gustav VI Adolf, he selected “Sverige I tiden” as his royal motto, as a promise to be what Sweden needed, whatever that might be.
Why Swedish, Not Latin?
Many modern mottoes, including “E Pluribus Unum” on many US coins, and “In Hoc Signo Vinces” from Part 4, are Latin, the language of the educated classes across Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Sweden’s modern motto breaks from that tradition.
By the twentieth century, Latin’s grip on official language had loosened. Constitutional monarchies like Sweden’s shifted toward a readable and understandable motto. Rather than reaching for antiquity or divine right, Carl XVI Gustaf’s motto speaks directly to the Swedish people in their shared language. This choice mirrors the modernizing, ceremonial role today’s Swedish monarchy maintains.
Constantine’s motto claimed victory through divine sign, but Carl XVI Gustaf’s motto claims something that speaks to each of us in today’s rapid-fire media cycle: relevance. “With the times” suggests a monarchy that moves alongside the country rather than ruling from above. It’s an honorable motto for a king who ascended the throne the same year that Sweden’s government drafted the constitutional reforms that stripped the monarchy of nearly all political power.
Carl XVI Gustaf’s reign is not marred by contested command, but rather celebrated ceremony. He does not appoint the prime minister, sign legislation, or command the armed forces as his predecessors. His role, as the motto suggests, is to represent Sweden in the here and now, whatever the times demand of him and of Sweden.
The 1 krona itself tells a story of continuity. The krona was minted continuously from 1875 to the year 2017, and under Carl XVI Gustaf, with very little visual change from 1976 – 2000. Even then, the composition and mint mark changed, but the overall design did not. Here are a few tidbits to add to your fact sheet.
- Premier Issuer: Sweden, under King Oscar II (beginning in 1875)
- Final Issuer: Sweden, under King Carl XVI Gustaf (reigned since 1973)
- Years minted: 1976–2017 (with a design refresh around the year 2000)
- Composition: Copper-nickel (and clad) from 1968 – 2014
- Composition: Copper-plated steel beginning in October 2016
- Weight / Diameter: CuNi: 7 g / 25 mm; Cu-plated: 3.6 g / 19.5mm
- Demonetized: 2017 in favor of a new currency system
By the time the coin left circulation, Carl XVI Gustaf was the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history, surpassing King Magnus IV’s ~44-year reign in April 2018. This suits a king whose motto was never about conquest, but about the power of endurance.
What does it mean when a monarch promises to keep pace, rather than to command? That’s for you to decide. Comment below and subscribe before you go!
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