What's a Kroner?

I had an entertaining conversation with Judi-Kari yesterday. I, in what now seems to be a misguided attempt to help entertain my mother, suggested that she read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. She's begun to read the book which apparently led to the following phone call yesterday:

JK: DeeDee, what's a kroner?

Me: What?

JK: What's a kroner? K-R-O-N-E-R.

Me: A kroner? Do you mean the money in Sweden?

JK: I guess. What is it?

Me: It's the monetary unit of Sweden.

JK: Is 3 million kroner a lot of money?

Me: Uh, I don't know.

JK: Well, what is it? If you get 3 million Kroner would you be rich?

Me: I wouldn't think so. I think it's kind of like Yen or Lira.

JK: What do you mean? How much is 3 million Kroner?

Me: It depends on the exchange rate.

JK: Yes, but how much is it in dollars?

Me: I don't know. It varies from day to day a bit.

JK: Well, what is it?

Me: If I had to guess I'd say it takes a lot of Krona to make a dollar.

JK: What do you mean?

Me: Like, I think one Kroner is worth 10 cents or something.

JK: Well, that would be terrible! Who would want to carry around a huge stack of Kroners to buy something? Why would they make a money that way?

Me: I don't know. Maybe it's a coin.

JK: It's a coin? Even worse!

Me: I don't know that it's a coin. Maybe they make a note that's like 100 Kroner or something. Maybe that's the smallest amount it comes in.

JK: You think so?

Me: I don't know for sure, I'm just saying if I were the head of the Swedish Treasury, that's what I would do.

JK: Can you look it up for me and find out how much a Kroner is? I mean, I just can't figure out if 3 million Kroner is a lot of money or not.

Me: Sure Mom, I'm at Target but will get right on it when I get home.

Just in case you're wondering, yesterday a Kroner was worth about 14 cents. Why did I recommend that book??