Archaeologists Find an Extraordinarily Rare Coin in Viking Age Hoard
In fact, it's so rare that it has already been declared a National Treasure.
In late Spring this year, metal detectorists dug up a massive cache of 1,000-year-old silver coins in Norway. At the time, archaeologists were impressed by the sheer size of the find, known as the Mørstad hoard, and hailed it as the largest Viking Age coin stash ever found in Norway.
Now, researchers are even more excited about the cache. While cataloging the hoard, they found an exceedingly rare silver coin minted during the reign of Olaf II Haraldsson, a Norwegian king who later became the patron saint of Norway. The obverse side of the coin shows Olaf’s left-facing bust wearing a conical battle helmet, as well as a so-called Golgotha cross on three steps, inspired by Byzantine coinage.
The flip side depicts a double cross and an inscription that means “My leader, my lord.” The design, researchers say, is emblematic of Olaf’s bid to establish Christianity in Norway. Since only three types of coins were issued under Olaf’s reign, the sovereign and his inner circle were likely to have been intimately involved in the design and production process.
Coin production in Norway didn’t really get going until Harald Hardrada came to power in 1045 C.E. For Olaf, minting coins was likely more of a political power move than anything else.
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