Friday, June 30, 2017 Today Sweden officially terminated the validity of some of its coins. The new coins were gradually introduced this year and were legal tender as of their introduction. The top row shows the old 1 crown and 5 crown coins, front and back sides. These were larger than the new coins and easier to handle in making payments. These are now no longer legal. The 5 crown figure is Sweden's previous king, while the figure on the old 1 crown coin is Sweden's present king. He is also on the new 1 and 2 crown coins, and the pre-existant 10 crown coin. The two lower rows show the new coins - the one crown is smaller than the old 1 crown, the new 2 crown is almost as small as the 1 crown and almost the same color, making it difficult to tell them apart. The new 5 crown is also smaller, but its size and color set it apart from the 1 and 2 crown coins. Many people here are wondering who, and why, the change in size and color, making differentiation and handling more difficult. I haven't seen anything in the news media about this. The 10 crown coin is old, and thicker, with a rifled edge (like the old 1 crown), making it easily recognizable for blind people. If any of you travel to Sweden, these are the new coins. The old 50 crown, 100 crown, 500 crown and 1,000 crown bills were successively replaced last year with new bills and a new 200 crown bill introduced. The motifs on the new bills are well known Swedish commoners instead of kings. The new bills are beautiful, the different denominations having different color themes. My brother jokingly said - this coin is illegal bender for all thefts both public and private, whereas this other coin is legal tender for all debts both public and private. Those of you who have read what's printed on US paper currency will recognize where the joke comes from (with apologies to the US Mint)! I'm working on the tournament photos from my Medieval Festival series. I'll post them as I get them done! :-) Enjoy!