page_title: History of Scandinavia
section_title: Monetary Union
hierarchical_section_title: History of Scandinavia / 19th century / Monetary Union
context_page_description: The history of Scandinavia is the history of the geographical region of Scandinavia and its peoples. The region is in northern Europe, and consists of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Finland and Iceland are at times, especially in English-speaking contexts, considered part of Scandinavia.
context_section_description: The Scandinavian Monetary Union was a monetary union formed by Sweden and Denmark on 5 May 1873, by fixing their currencies against the gold standard at par to each other. Norway, which was in union with Sweden entered the union two years later, in 1875 by pegging its currency to gold at the same level as Denmark and Sweden (.403 grams ). The monetary union was one of the few tangible results of the Scandinavian political movement of the 19th century.
  The union provided fixed exchange rates and stability in monetary terms, but the member countries continued to issue their own separate currencies. Even if it was not initially foreseen, the perceived security led to a situation where the formally separate currencies were accepted on a basis of "as good as" the legal tender virtually throughout the entire area.
  The outbreak of World War I in 1914 brought an end to the monetary union. Sweden abandoned the tie to gold on 2 August 1914, and without a fixed exchange rate the free circulation came to an end.
caption: Scandinavism
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