Danish krone, Norwegian krone and Swedish krona coins

In the nineteenth century, most trading nations in the western world adopted the gold standard to define the value of their coinage. It was thought that the standard, in which all currencies were valued at fixed quantities of gold, would simplify the practice of currency exchange.In 1873 Denmark and Sweden founded the Scandinavian Monetary Union. Two years later Norway also became a member. At this time, Sweden adjusted its coins to meet the gold standard. It also introduced a new coin, the Swedish krona, in line with the Danish krone, which had existed since 1618. The Union confirmed the equal value of the member countries' currencies, and set the standard denomination at 1 krone to 0.44803 grams of 900 fine gold. The Scandinavian Monetary Union operated successfully until the First World War (1914-18) when it failed to withstand the financial pressures of war. It returned for a brief period in 1924-1931.The appearance of the coins of the three countries follows similar conventions: each carries a portrait image in profile of their country's king on one side and has the denomination on the other.