Another crown form in England and abroad followed the principle of the wreath and might consist of a string of jewels tied at the back with a ribbon or set in a rigid band of gold. When this type of chaplet was adopted by the nobility in general, the royal crown was distinguished by a number of ornaments upstanding from its rim; by the 15th century the helmet form was incorporated by the addition of one or more arches. These rose from the rim and, crossing in the centre, supported a finial—usually a ball and cross but in France, from the time of Louis XIV, a fleur-de-lis.

Many of the early European crowns were made in sections hinged together by long pins, which enabled them to be taken apart for transport or storage and, when worn, to adapt themselves to the shape and size of the wearer's head. A circlet was made for Queen Victoria on the same principle, with its sections hinged but not detachable.

The practice of grounding the arches not on the rim of the circlet but on the tops of the surrounding ornaments began in the 17th century. This led to a change in shape and a flattening or depression in the centre that later was explained away as having a royal or imperial significance. Many crowns are to be found in continental cathedrals, museums, and royal treasuries. Some are associated with early figures of history or romance; others—e.g., the steel crown of Romania—are comparatively modern. The only European states in which the crown is still imposed in the course of a religious ceremony of consecration are Great Britain and the Vatican.

monetary unit of several European countries, including Sweden, Denmark, and Norway—the first countries to adopt the crown, in the 1870s. The crown (krona) is divided into 100 öre. In Norway, the unit is known as the krone; in the Czech Republic it is called the koruna.

In Sweden, the most populous of these countries, the Svergies Riksbank (also known as Riksbanken, the Swedish National Bank, or the Bank of Sweden) has the sole authority to issue banknotes and coins (coin), a power it has had since 1904. Coins are issued in denominations ranging from 50 öre to 10 kronor and contain images and symbols of the Swedish monarchy. Banknotes are issued in denominations from 20 to 1,000 kronor. The obverse of the bills picture Swedish cultural and historical figures. For example, the famed soprano Jenny Lind (Lind, Jenny) is on the 50-krona note, and naturalist Carl von Linné (Carolus Linnaeus (Linnaeus, Carolus)) is on the 100-krona bill. The reverse sides are adorned with images of the Swedish landscape, of literary passages, or of musical instruments (musical instrument).

Before the crown was adopted, Sweden had several monetary units, including the riksdaler, which the crown replaced. Sweden's currency system was decimalized in 1855. The crown was introduced as Sweden's monetary unit in1873, when the country became part of the Scandinavian Monetary Union (SMU) and the coins of Denmark and Norway became legal tender within Sweden. The Swedish-Norwegian union was renegotiated in 1905, and Sweden abandoned the SMU in 1931. Although Sweden is a member of the European Union (EU), it has chosen not to adopt the euro, the EU's single currency.