Stockholm, Nordiska Kompaniet AB, 1920
Charge coins are the predecessors of today's credit cards. The first ones were issued in the United States as early as the 1890s and were made of a simple metal, such as brass, copper or aluminium.
The first Swedish charge coins were issued by NK (AB Nordiska Kompaniet) in Stockholm in the 1920s. The badge was made of bronze and the number was linked to a customer list. After purchasing, the customer paid at the end of the following month. To get a charge coin, you had to be well-off, and the charge coins quickly became a status symbol. In the 1950s, the badges were replaced by a paper proof of account, and today they have been replaced by modern plastic cards linked to Mastercard.
