5 Kronor 1948. 90th Birthday of King Gustav V, Sweden
| in Krause book | Number: P41a |
| Years of issue: | 10.06.1948 - 31.08.1948 |
| Edition: | 1000000 (were sold only 170 819 pieces) |
| Signatures: | Dag Hammarskjöld, Ivar Rooth (engraved) |
| Serie: | No Serie |
| Specimen of: | 1948 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 121 х 70 |
| Printer: | Tumba Bruk (Crane and Co.), Tumba, Sweden |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Waves, lower left - Head of Mercury in a cartouche.
Stamp (matrix and patris) for making shape to watermark for Mercury to Sittande Svea 5 kr. And 10 kr. For 50, 100 and 1000 kronor they were bigger in size.
Avers:
On left side is The His majesty King of Sweden Gustav V, half-turned, the photo made in 1948.
Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Reigning from the death of his father Oscar II in 1907 until his own death 43 years later, he holds the record of being the oldest monarch of Sweden and the third-longest reigning after Magnus IV and Carl XVI Gustaf. He was also the last Swedish monarch to exercise his royal prerogatives, which largely died with him, although formally abolished only with the remaking of the Swedish constitution in 1974. He was the first Swedish king since the High Middle Ages not to have a coronation and hence never wore a crown, a tradition continuing to date.
Gustaf's early reign saw the rise of parliamentary rule in Sweden, although the leadup to World War I pre-empted his overthrow of Liberal Prime Minister Karl Staaff in 1914, replacing him with his own figurehead Hjalmar Hammarskjöld (father of Dag Hammarskjöld) for most of the war. However, after the Liberals and Social Democrats secured a parliamentary majority under Staaff's successor, Nils Edén, he allowed Edén to form a new government which de facto stripped the monarchy of all virtual powers and enacted universal and equal suffrage, including for women, by 1919. Bowing fully to the principles of parliamentary democracy, he remained a popular figurehead for the remaining 31 years of his rule, although not completely without influence - during World War II he allegedly urged Per Albin Hansson's coalition government to accept requests from Nazi Germany for logistics support, refusing which might have provoked an invasion. This remains controversial to date, although he is not known to have shown much support for fascism or radical nationalism; his pro-German and anti-Communist stance was well known also in World War I.
Following his death at age 92, he was implicated as a homosexual in the Haijby affair. His supposed lover - career criminal and accused pedophile Kurt Haijby - was imprisoned in 1952 for blackmail of the court in the 1930s. (Homosexuality was a criminal offense in Sweden until 1944, though Gustaf's position would have granted automatic immunity.) An avid hunter and sportsman, he presided over the 1912 Olympic Games and chaired the Swedish Association of Sports from 1897 to 1907. Most notably, he represented Sweden (under the alias of Mr G.) as a competitive tennis player, keeping up competitive tennis until his 80s, when his eyesight deteriorated rapidly. He died from flu complications and was succeed by his son, Gustaf VI Adolf. 
On right side is Gustav's V monogram and The Crown of Eric XIV.
The Crown of Eric XIV, made in Stockholm in 1561 by Flemish goldsmith Cornelius ver Welden, is typical of the Renaissance style of jewelry of his time. Originally his crown bore four pairs of the letter 'E' and 'R', the initials of the Latin form of his name, "Ericus Rex", in green enamel, each pair being on either side of the central stones on the front, sides and back of the circlet. When he was deposed by his brother, John III, John had each of these letters covered with identical cartouches each set with two pearls. The Swedish monarchs of the Houses of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, of Hesse and of Holstein-Gottorp preferred to use Queen Christina's crown rather than that of Eric XIV; however, the House of Bernadotte choose to use Eric's crown. However, they replaced the original orb and cross at the top of the crown with a new large orb enameled blue with gold star and set with diamond and with a cross of ten diamonds. They also replaced the original pearls on the top of the eight large ornaments on the circlet with diamonds and replacing the pearl cartouches with eight diamond rosettes moved the circlet 45 degrees. This is the form the crown has in the portrait of Oscar II painted by Oscar Björck. In the early twentieth century this orb and cross and these diamond rosettes were removed and the crown restored to essentially the form it had under John III.
Eric also had a scepter, an orb and a key made for his coronation. This key is an item found only in the Swedish regalia (although a pair of gold and silver keys also were formerly presented to a new pope at his coronation). His scepter was made by Hans Heiderick in 1561 and is of gold, enameled and set with diamonds, rubies and sapphires and still used as the monarch's scepter. It originally was surmounted by a large round sapphire at the top enclosed by two intersecting rows of pearls. This sapphire was lost at the baptism of Gustav IV Adolf and was replaced by the present dark blue enamelled orb in 1780. The orb is also of gold and is unique among European regalia in that it is engraved and enamelled with a map of the earth according to the cartography current at the time it was made. At the top of the orb is a smaller orb in blue enamel and covered with stars, above which is a small cross formed of a table cut diamond surrounded by three pearls. The orb was made by Cornelius ver Weiden and probably engraved by Franz Beijer in Antwerp in 1568. The present blue enamel dates from 1751 and replaces the original black enamel that was badly damaged at the coronation of Charles XI. The original model used for the engraving is not known, but the engraver placed the northern hemisphere upside down, while placing the names where they would have been if the map were right side up.
The anointing horn was made in 1606 in Stockholm by Peter Kilimpe for the coronation of Carl IX and is of gold in the shape of s bull's horn supported by a pedestal. The large end is closed by a lip with a chain and on the opposite point of the horn stands a small figure of justice holding a pair of scales. The horn is decorated in ornamental relief work with multi-colored opaque and translucent enamel and set with 10 diamonds and 14 rubies, including 6 Karelian "rubies" (i.e., garnets).
The burial crown and sceptre of King Carl IX are kept at Strängnäs Cathedral. These items were originally interred with his body but were later exhumed and put on display.
Denominations in numerals are in lower corners and centered, in words - centered.
Revers:
Greater coat of arms of Sweden without holders.
The greater coat of arms is blazoned in Swedish law as follows:
A shield azure, quartered by a cross Or with outbent arms, and an inescutcheon containing the dynastic arms of the Royal House. In the first and fourth fields three open crowns Or, placed two above one. In the second and third fields three sinisterbendwise streams argent, a lion crowned with an open crown Or armed gules. The inescutcheon is party per pale the arms for the House of Vasa (Bendwise azure, argent and gules, a vasa Or); and the House of Bernadotte (Azure, issuant from a wavy base a bridge with three arches and two towers embattled argent, in honor point an eagle regardant with wings inverted resting on thunderbolts Or, and in chief the Big Dipper constellation of the same). The main shield is crowned by a royal crown and surrounded by the insignia of the Order of the Seraphim. Supported by two lions regardant, crowned and with forked tails Or armed gules, standing on a compartment Or. All surrounded by ermine mantling, crowned with a royal crown and tied up with tasseladorned strings Or.
The greater arms may also be displayed only with the crowned escutcheon. While the arms have undergone significant changes over the years, such as changing the inescutcheon with the ruling dynasty, they are based on arms created by King Karl Knutsson in 1448.
The escutcheon used in the greater blazon has in total five elements: 4 quarterings on the main escutcheon (two coats of arms duplicated), and three coat of arms incorporated into an escutcheon of pretense. However, Bernadotte never used any stars in the arms of Pontecorvo (neither as Prince of Pontecorvo, nor as King of Sweden and Norway) contrary to the illustration below. The stars were introduced as an element in the royal coat of arms in the XIX century, chosen as a symbol of Sweden's eternal existence, as in the poem by Esaias Tegnér:
As long as Charles's Wain still turns
Its golden wheels around the Northern zone
Intact shall stand the ancient Swedish throne.
This symbol became especially popular through its allusion to the name that had been borne by so many famous Swedish kings. The Big Dipper, or as it is called in Swedish, Karlavagnen (Charles's Wain), adds a Swedish accent to the Bernadotte dynastic coat of arms much in the same way as do the Vasa arms.
Above is The Crown of Eric XIV.
Denominations in numerals are in top left and lower right corners, also lots of on background, across all field of banknote, together with Swedish symbol - three crowns.
Comments:
Invalid from 31 December 1987.
Designer: Akke Kumlien.
Engraver: Albert Jorpes.
Printed edition of Royal Swedish Post from 1948 - saying about commemorative stamps and banknote , issued to 90th Birthday of His majesty King Gustav V.
Banknotes was sold for 10 Kronor each, of which 5 Kronor went to Gustav V's memorial fund.
The original packaging consists of transparent cellophane with red print: "In favor of GUSTAF V's ninety-year. Fund for Sweden's youth" ("Till förmån för GUSTAF V: nittioårsfond för Sveriges ungdom"). Sales time last up to, including, July 1949.
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