Finnish Pre-Industrial Currency Converter (1534–1880)
Abstract
Finland has undergone a plethora of currency systems in the last 500 years. This creates difficulties in understanding fundamental societal metrics of prices, values, living standards, and economic development. Until now, no easily accessible and comprehensive account of the various exchange rates has existed, rendering long-run comparisons difficult. This article conducts a substantial literature review to provide currency exchange rates for the principal currencies used in Finland from the 1530s until the late nineteenth century. The included exchange rates allow for nominal conversions between multiple currencies used each year. We advocate the use of a literature standard of silver grams as a tool to compare values from different currency systems and periods.
Keywords: currency converter; exchange rates; multiple currencies; daler; riksdaler; rouble; mark; pre-industrial period; monetary history; silver; coin; banknote; Finnish history; Swedish history; Russian history
