W. C a r e w H a z l i t t Coinage of the European Continent

Descriptive Outline of the Coinages of Europe 377
The restless and adventurous spirit of the Scandinavians,
proceeding in part from their climatic conditions and in part
from the facilities which their seaboard and nautical
skill afforded for marauding expeditions, was common
to the Swedes and Norwegians, only in a more marked
degree perhaps than to Denmark. Sweden presents itself
to our notice from the earliest period of its known history
as the home of a people who were constantly thirsting for
subsistence or dominion outside their natural geographical
frontiers ;
and in this respect they resembled the community
which we have just treated. It is true, to a great extent, of
Norway, that it never possessed a national pulse, just as it
has never yielded anything important in history, literature,
or art. But while Sweden enjoyed during a considerable
interval a large share of power and prosperity, its
sources of
political progress and military success partook of a nature
which was bound in the result to be destructive. It was the
insatiable ambition to extend the kingdom westward by conquest
or alliances which weakened the monarchy at its centre,
and when the fruits of hard-won victory had been lost for
ever, left Sweden weak and poor, with no other indemnity
than Norway, the price of its loyalty to the Allies, and no
other consolation than the memorials of former greatness
legible in painting, medal and armorial shield.
The numismatic remains in the Swedish series open with
the denarii of Olaf Skotkonung about the end of the tenth
century from the mint at Sigtuna; and probably the extensive
succession and volume of bracteates represent the
prevailing currency over the whole of this and the surrounding
regions down to the thirteenth century, when an improved
coinage with portraits and other types was introduced
under Valdemar (1250-75). The periodical character of
the money was affected by the changes which occurred in
the distribution of territory or the balance of political power.
The united kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are
indicated by three rivers or by three crowns. Probably
the parent mints were Stockholm, Lodose, Opsolo, and
Abo, which were reinforced by others after the incorporation