It’s the first time for decades that Sweden is replacing all of its coins and banknotes with new designs and security in focus.

Only the 10-krona coin will remain unchanged, the rest of the roughly 300 million notes and 2 billion coins will gradually be taken out of circulation to make way for the newly-minted money.

The current banknotes in use were introduced 30 years ago and have only seen minor changes since, and Stefan Ingves, head of the Central Bank, says that this overhaul is long overdue.

But the design and upgraded security features are not the only things that are different about the new money. The Central Bank is also introducing two new denominations to the Swedish currency, a 2-krona coin and a 200-krona note.

“This will bring down the use of coins and notes, because when you have these denominations you the reduce the change that you need when you buy things”, says Stefan Ingves.

The new banknotes feature a whole new range of famous faces in the designs, including Swedish celebrities like the late author Astrid Lindgren, actress Greta Garbo, film director Ingmar Bergman and former UN secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld, and the coins feature symbols that represent sun, wind and water.

The money will be introduced in two steps; four notes will enter circulation in October this year and the coins and the two remaining notes will be introduced in October 2016.

With banks and retailers pushing a cash-free society, these could potentially be the last notes and coins ever used in Sweden. But Stefan Ingves is certain that there will always be a use for cash and says he’s sure the new money will still be in circulation in 2045.

Swedish Radio

Photo: Markus Landen/Swedish Radio