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Norwegian coinage3/23/2023 ![]() The image from the die turned the blank metal into a coin. Then, they simply placed the blank between the two dies and hit the top die with a hammer. Patterns were etched into iron – a much tougher metal than silver or gold – to create dies. These were then beaten into thin sheets and circular blanks would be punched or chiselled out. Ingots – usually of silver, but other metals were used – would be heated. Most of the rest of the world, including Scandinavia, made struck coins. Cast coins were only really made in the Far East. You can either melt metal and pour it into moulds to make cast coins or you can make discs of metal and then hammer an imprint into them to make struck coins. There are two main ways of minting coins. These coins were fairly primitive compared to others of the period and were likely intended as payments to soldiers rather than for use in trading. His successors Anand Jacob and Canute I also minted coins at Sigtuna. This was mainly around the town of Sigtuna near Stockholm. ![]() Sweden was also experimenting with coins in the 990s under Olof Skötkonung who issued coins with his image and title. Under the reign of Harald Hardrada, who had experience of currencies during his time with the Byzantine emperor, a national currency was established. Initially they were silver pennies with a weight of around 0.89g but over time the amount of silver was lowered in favour of copper. Norwegian coins also start around the same time under the authority of Olav Tryggvason, who had also been a commander of Viking forces in Britain. Coins were mostly made in Lund but there were also mints at Ribe, Hedeby and Aalborg. The first known coins were issued by Sweyn Forkbeard and continued under Cnut. The English coins gained through the Danegeld became the prototypes of the first Danish coins and often included the same imagery even though they were minted in Denmark. Once the Danelaw was established it was kept on as a land-tax. ![]() Initially it was raised as tribute to the Viking invaders to effectively pay them off and stop them attacking. The Danes in Britain had enforced what was known as the Danegeld. Known mints in Scandinavia sprung up towards the end of the 10 th century. The Vikings understood that they needed to work on their image to improve their appearance to the rest of the world! Mints in Scandinavia Lumps of metal are for barbarians and coins are for refined people. The Oseberg ship in Oslo's Viking ship museum.Ī large part of the impetus behind the Scandinavia Kings developing coins was that they were seen as a sign of civilisation. From the initial raids on the East coast the Vikings quickly became familiar with coins.Ĭontinuing through to the establishment of the Danelaw – the vast swathe of Northern and Eastern England ruled by the Danes – the Vikings managed to amass a large quantity of coins without making their own. Coins were well established in Northern Europe, including the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the British Isles. The second route, as you’d no doubt expect from Vikings, was through raids in Viking ships. It also brought coins and it’s likely that the first coins to be known in Scandinavia were from the Islamic countries. The Silk Road, stretching from China to Southern Europe, allowed goods and ideas to flow between the East and the West. The Vikings encountered coins through two routes. King Alyattes of Lydia, now part of modern-day Turkey, is widely considered to have produced the first coins, known as Lydian Lions for the image stamped on them, in around 600 BCE. Silver and gold were used in the Viking Age, based on weight Raiding and tradingĪround this time, most other civilisations and cultures were already well-versed in the use of metal tokens specifically designed for the purposes of trade. Often pieces would be cut into pieces known as ‘hack silver’ when smaller amounts were needed. For trade, the silver could be formed into bars and ingots, or simply traded as jewellery. Silver was the main precious metal of the day as it was relatively common, but they also used gold.Īs the value of precious metals grew, they became associated with wealth and the more affluent Vikings would wear silver jewellery and use silver weapons. Initially, and again like many civilisations, the Vikings developed a bullion economy, using precious metals in place of commodities. This works well for small transactions between a couple of people who can each fill the other’s needs.īut what happens if you need some grain and you don’t have a sheep? Or if you need 100 sheep but you don’t need 100 sacks of grain? You’re gonna need some kind of token of value that can be used instead of goods.
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