Plans to replace the Swedish 20 kronor note halted after criticism.

• Time to say farewell to 'Selman'

In a move to modernise the entire Swedish banknote and coin series the Riksbank has decided to suggests the introduction of a 2-kronor coin and a 200-kronor banknote. It would also replace the 20-kronor note with a 20-kronor coin.

The 20-kronor banknote is nicknamed “Selman” as the famous Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf is printed on the note. She was the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The proposal to remove the note was met with annoyance among many Swedes. Even people within the central bank took a stand against the decision.

Riksdagen's Committee on Finance has now put a stop to the plan.

"The Riksbank wants to replace the 20 kronor banknote with a coin. Finance Committee on Tuesday turned down the proposal", it said in a statement, adding that it previously had advices against the move.

"The committee however approves the Riksbank proposal to introduce a 2 kronor coin and a 200 kronor note. The reason is that they will replace a significant amount of one kronor coins and 100 kronor notes. The number of notes in circulation will thus decline which will cut handling and purchasing costs as well as ease the burden on the environment".

The central bank said that 20-kronor banknote became increasingly frayed, leading to practical problems for machines to handle the banknotes. It also becomes more difficult to check whether the banknotes are genuine or fake.