There are current two 50-krona banknotes which are legal tender. The newer 50-krona note was first issued in 2006 and has a foil strip and see-through picture. The older 50-krona note with the current motif but without a foil strip and see-through picture was first issued in 1996.
1. The main motif is a portrait of the singer Jenny Lind.
2. Notes from Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma.
3. A drawing of Stockholm's old opera house.
4. The micro lettering is a quotation from composer Arnold Schoenberg.
5. An excerpt from the score of Sven-David Sandström's Pictures for Percussion and Orchestra.
6. The background depicts a stylised view of a Swedish landscape.
7. A picture of a silver harp and its tonal range.
Measurement: 77 x 120 millimetres.
The main motif on the front of the 50-krona note is a portrait of singer Jenny Lind, drawn and engraved from a printed lithograph dating back to around 1845. Jenny Lind (1820-1887) was known as the Swedish nightingale and was Sweden's first and perhaps greatest singer of international repute. She was accepted at the tender age of nine as a pupil at the Royal Opera. Jenny Lind was a skilled coloratura soprano with a wide vocal range, and was appointed court singer and member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
To the right of the portrait is Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz' drawing of the old Stockholm opera house, which was demolished in 1892. This is where Jenny Lind made her last appearance in Sweden, in 1848. The notes in the background are a passage from Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma.
The music theme on the banknote recurs in the micro lettering to the right of the drawing of the opera house, in the form of a quotation from the composer Arnold Schoenberg on the importance of music:
| "Musik överbringar ett profetiskt budskap, vilket uppenbarar en högre livsform som mänskligheten utvecklar sig i riktining mot. Och det är på grund av detta budskap som musik appellerar till människor av alla raser och nationaliteter." (Music conveys a prophetical message, which reveals a higher life form towards which humanity is developing. And it is because of this message that music appeals to people of all races and nationalities.) |
On the reverse of the note is a picture of a silver harp, its tonal range and an excerpt from the score of Sven-David Sandström's Pictures for Percussion and Orchestra. The background is comprised of a stylised Swedish landscape.
The signatures on Swedish banknotes belong to the Chairman of the General Council and the Governor of the Riksbank.