Speciedaler (Norwegian silver coin)
What was a speciedaler?
The speciedaler (Norwegian spesidaler) was a Norwegian silver coin and later the principal coin in Norway’s monetary system. The word is related to in specie, meaning “in coin”: it distinguished silver coin from lower-value courant money. Older sources also use the name riksdaler species.
Coinage and silver content
Norges Bank records specie coinage in Christiania from 1628, followed by production at Kongsberg. For the 1671 monetary ordinance, the fine-silver content of a riksdaler species was set at 25.282 grams. That figure belongs to that monetary standard and should not be applied without qualification to every coin called a daler.
Relations between the speciedaler and smaller units changed with monetary reforms. Norges Bank’s historical table, for example, gives 96 skilling to a riksdaler species in periods from 1625, while the 1816 system defined a speciedaler as five ort or 120 skilling. When describing a coin, distinguish the physical coin, the accounting unit and the exchange relation in force at the time.
Identification
Examine the date, denomination, mint mark, coat of arms, inscriptions and wear on the individual coin. The name alone does not establish its date, authenticity or silver content. A speciedaler must also be distinguished from riksdaler courant and other historical daler denominations. A daler coin may appear as a decorative element in a brudedaler.
