Goertz Daler: The Swedish Emergency Coinage

Illustrated Specimen Details: Swedish Empire 1 Goertz Daler

Example Specimen: 1 Goertz daler (daler silvermynt), 1718 (Swedish Empire)

Iconography & Origin: Issued during the reign of Carl XII (Charles XII of Sweden). The obverse displays the denomination I. DALER S.M (1 daler SilverMynt) surrounded by a floral ornament, which is stylistically similar to most of the 10 known types of Goertz dalers. The reverse features a warrior with a sword and banner standing next to a lion, accompanied by the motto FLINK OCH FÄRDIG ("Fast and Ready" or "Agile and Ready"). Interestingly, this emergency coin (considered a notgeld — in Swedish "nödmynt") does not contain the name of the ruler or the state.

Minting Peculiarity: The mintage for this specific type is 7,368,000 pieces (although some numismatic sources erroneously indicate 736,800). Due to wartime conditions, these copper coins were crudely produced and relatively small for their assigned nominal value.

1. SWEDISH EMPIRE (1715-1719): Goertz daler = daler silvermynt = 2/5 riksdaler

About the name: The denomination "daler" (inherent to Scandinavian countries) clearly derives from the thaler, which was extremely common in medieval Europe. The prefix "Goertz" refers to Georg Heinrich von Görtz — a Swedish statesman and advisor of German origin — with whom the public associated the massive appearance of this controversial credit money.

History and Economic Impact of the Goertz Daler

The Goertz daler (Swedish: Görtzdaler) was a wartime emergency token coin issued during the final years of the Great Northern War. In the 17th century, Sweden was unique in Europe for having a monetary system based on copper-silver bimetallism, circulating both silver dalers (daler silvermynt) and copper dalers (daler kopparmynt). As the relative price of copper fell, copper coins had to be made in massive sizes to match their silver counterparts — leading to the creation of Copper Plate Money weighing over 19 kg.

The Financial Crisis of the Great Northern War

During the Great Northern War, Sweden faced extreme military exhaustion, financial collapse, and a severe shortage of silver reserves. To finance the war effort, Charles XII's advisor, Georg Heinrich von Görtz, attempted to stabilize the state's finances by introducing large quantities of fiduciary copper token coinage. These coins — typically weighing around 5 grams — were given an artificially high nominal value equal to a silver daler.

The coins effectively functioned as state-backed emergency token money rather than true intrinsic-value dalers. Over a short period, an estimated 20 to 42 million pieces across 10 different types were issued. Their designs commonly featured allegorical imagery, mythological motifs, and royal symbols instead of realistic portraits.

Collapse and Numismatic Legacy

The coercive implementation of this fiat money resulted in a complete breakdown of the country's financial system. The coinage quickly became highly unpopular due to rampant inflation, deep public distrust, and a weak intrinsic metal value. Following the death of Charles XII, the Görtz monetary system completely collapsed. Many of the coins were demonetized or had their values drastically reduced. Public anger over the financial disaster was so intense that Georg Heinrich von Görtz was arrested and executed in 1719.

Today, Goertz dalers are highly valued by collectors for their unusual allegorical designs and their deep connection to the fall of the Swedish Empire. They remain one of the most historically significant examples of early modern fiduciary monetary policy and wartime inflationary crises in Europe.