Which bank issued Europe’s first printed banknotes in 1661?

Stockholms Banco issued Europe’s first printed banknotes in 1661.

The Swedish bank was founded in Stockholm in 1657 by Johan Palmstruch, with royal authorization. It initially accepted deposits and made loans using metal coins, but its managers eventually issued credit notes that represented money held by the bank. These notes were easier to carry than large quantities of copper coins.

The bank’s lending exceeded its available reserves, and confidence collapsed when customers demanded coin redemption. Stockholms Banco failed in 1668, after which the Swedish authorities created Sveriges Riksbank. The modern Sveriges Riksbank traces its institutional history to that successor, not simply to the failed bank itself.

The notes are often described as Europe’s first banknotes, although China had used paper money centuries earlier. A banknote is different from a government-issued paper currency in general: it began as a redeemable claim on a bank.