Swedish Coin

Kimberly Thompson

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You’d be hard-pressed to find a store that will accept this copper coin – though La Crosse blacksmith J.M. Barclay had no trouble taking it for payment in the late 1850s or early 1860s.

For starters, it isn’t legal American tender. This was a two öre piece from Sweden and is about the size of an American half-dollar. Minted in 1766, it bears the initials for Adolf Fredrik, King of the Swedes, Goths, and Wends (A.F.S.G.V.R) around a royal crest. When its owner brought it to La Crosse, it wasn’t even legal tender in Sweden anymore, since this type of öre was phased out in 1777.

Nevertheless, it ended up in La Crosse almost a hundred years later, when J.M. Barclay stamped his name on one face. Barclay arrived in La Crosse in the fall of 1856 and set up a blacksmith shop under his name on Third Street. In 1860, his business took a new direction as he partnered with J.S. Bantam and began manufacturing plows before leaving for St. Paul in 1863. Barclay returned in 1865 to join A. Hirschheimer & Co. which eventually became the La Crosse Plow Company.

One possible explanation is that a Norwegian immigrant brought the coin with them to La Crosse. The close relationship between Norway and Sweden would make it very likely that Swedish coinage could end up in the pocket of a Norwegian. Foreign sailors and merchants have frequented the ports of Norway for centuries. When this coin’s owner immigrated to America, Norway was still part of the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway, a union that lasted until 1905.

Very few Norwegians made it to La Crosse when Barclay’s shop was in operation. A few years earlier in 1854, they represented only six percent of the population. Despite low numbers, Barclay did run a vital business that Norwegian residents probably frequented. Whether he got this Swedish coin as a payment, a present, or in another way, Barclay felt a need to mark it with his name.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on June 6, 2020.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.