Medal for promotion of manufacture of silk
Many attempts were made in the 18th century to produce domestic silk thread for the Swedish silk weaving mills. Silkworms and mulberry leaves, which silkworms eat, were needed to produce silk thread.
From 1753, financial support was given to people who planted mulberry trees and grew leaves for silkworms. The grower received ten daler silvermynt coins for every skålpound (425 grams) of silk produced and sold to the factory.
In 1755, a medal was created and awarded to people who promoted the silk industry in Sweden. On the obverse (front) we see the royal couple Adolf Fredrik and Lovisa Ulrika, and on the reverse (back) a silkworm on a mulberry leaf. Queen Lovisa Ulrika herself was very involved in silk production at Drottningholm.
