Axel, locked up the shop for the night, swept the floor, and smiled to himself glancing over at the day's profits. He would organize the stacks of bills later. He was famished.
He left the modest of shop he had rented on the newest opulent boulevard in Stockholm and entered the two room apartment behind it filled to the brim with his family, all their worldly possessions, and the money he had earned them. They had travel with from the countryside just over a year ago, risking all they had. He beamed with pride at his success, squeezed his way through the small, cluttered room and took a seat at the table in the center.
His wife Else did not share his elation. Frazzled and sweaty, she slapped a hearty portion of meat and potatoes in front of her husband.
"Äta!" she commanded. She shifted their youngest child from one hip to the other and slapped a pint of beer next to Axel's plate, slopping some of the brew over the edge of the glass. Axel did as he was told and began to eat. Still, he would not let his wife's bad mood spoil his.
Else set the baby beside the hearth and maneuvered herself to the corner of the room designated as the kitchen. The baby began to scream but Else ignored him and scrubbed away at a pot.
Axel picked up the baby and balanced him on his knee. He lifted his mug to the infant's lips and he guzzeld his father's beer squealing with pleasure. Axel continued to eat, humming to his son, bouncing him on one knee and occasionally popping a soft potato into his mouth. Finally, the baby's lids grew tired and Axel carried him, sidestepping around stacks of money, into the back room filled with just one large bed. There he set the sleeping baby beside his four other children also deep in slumber.
When he returned Else was still cleaning. He hugged his wife lovingly from behind but she batted him away.
"Else," he purred again attempting amorous behavior.
"Nej!" she pushed him away again.
Finally, he grabbed her arm spun his bride around to face him.
"Else," he said pushing her messy hair away from her dirty face. "We are rich." He motioned to the stacks of bills piled from floor to ceiling around them. Tomorrow I will purchase the shop and the townhouse next to it. The children will have their own room. We can hire a servant."
"I hate the money in the capitol," she said frowning. "I'd rather barter with chickens and goats like back home. At least they can easily be moved."
Axel picked up a 10 daler bill from the table, and staggered a bit. He had to admit the copper bills were a bit of a drag. It weighed more than their 9-year-old daughter and the he had to admit the apartment was stuffed to the gills with this impractical currency.
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Author's note:
The first copper coins were minted when Sweden introduced the copper standard in 1624. As copper is worth less than silver, large plates of copper were needed to replace small silver coins. The largest copper coin weighed almost 20 kilos.
Sweden's 10-daler coin was actually a ginormous 43-pound slab of copper, more than two feet long by one foot wide.
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