5 Öre - Oscar I Pattern strike, Type IV

Pattern strikes for Oscar I's proposed copper coinage went through at least four distinct type iterations in the early 1850s as the Swedish government debated reforming its cumbersome riksdaler system. Type IV represents a late-stage proposal — close enough to approved designs that surviving examples blur the line between pattern and rejected prototype. Most were struck in very small numbers for ministerial review, not collector distribution, which is why institutional provenance dominates auction appearances.

Sweden ultimately overhauled its coinage with the 1855 riksdaler reforms. This piece belongs to the deliberations that preceded that decision.