Swedish Charta Sigillata Records

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Between the years 1733 and 1748 a special tax was imposed in Sweden for people who wanted to get married. It was called charta sigillata which was a stamp tax paid as part of the engagement process. The money was paid to the parish priest who would pay the tax authorities based on the number of marriages that were registered in the parish engagement and marriage record. During this time period it is common to see an abbreviation Ch. Sig. or Chart. Sig. with a money amount in the parish marriage records.

If the priest was responsible for multiple parishes then the list given to the tax authorities might be for all the parishes in the pastorat. Nonetheless the charta sigillata records can be a good source when the engagement and marriage records for a parish are missing.

As a note, you cannot assume that if a marriage is not listed in the charta sigillata records then the marriage did not happen. The number of marriages that were registered in charta sigillata is 204,584. Stamp taxes were used in Sweden for many reasons between 1660 and 1 July, 1992.

Source:


 * Arkiv Digital, Vigslar, Arkiv Digital Online Jan. 2015
 * Sedelmynt (J.A.), Charta Sgillata och Stämpelmärken at: http://www.sedelmynt.se/charta/index.htm, Jan. 2015