Rare Viking Silver Coin Bearing King Olaf’s Name Found in Norway Hoard of 5,500 Coins

A rare silver coin minted during the reign of Norway’s famous Viking king Olaf Haraldsson has been discovered in a huge treasure hove near the village of Lena. The hoard currently contains between 5,500 and 6,000 silver coins.

The coin bears the name of Olaf Haraldsson, who ruled Norway from 1015 to 1028 and is considered the country’s national saint as St. Olaf, or “Saint Olaf.” Fewer than 20 coins minted during Olaf’s reign have been discovered, leading one source to describe the find as a “national treasure.”

A Christian message on a Viking coin

“Here we have a coin with a portrait of the king and a cross, and on the other side there is another cross,” Svein Grubeck, a coin expert from the University of Oslo, said in a statement.

“This is a Christianized coin on a grand scale.”

Olaf is credited with helping establish Christianity in Norway, an early step toward the country’s full conversion about a generation later. Researchers believe the imagery on the coin also helped Olaf present himself as a Christian king.

“We can see how King Olaf used coinage to legitimize his new faith and establish himself as a Christian king in Europe,” Grubeck said. “This is branding.”

Who was King Olaf Haraldsson?

Olaf Haraldsson learned about Christianity as a young man while taking part in Viking raids against England and France. According to the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, he was baptized in the French city of Rouen around 1013.

He became King of Norway in 1015 and, around 1024, declared Christianity the country’s only legal religion, according to the University of Bergen. However, much of Norway — particularly the central Trøndelag region and the eastern part of the country — remained loyal to the Norse gods during his rule.

Olaf became a Christian saint soon after his death in 1030. He is now recognized as one of Norway’s first Christian kings and the first Norwegian king to have coins issued in his name.

The Murstad hoard was much larger than first thought

The coin was found in the Murstad hoard near Lena in April. The buried treasure was initially described as the largest hoard ever discovered in Norway and was estimated to contain around 3,000 silver coins.

Further investigation revealed that the hoard contained more than 5,500 coins, and possibly as many as 6,000, according to the Museum of Cultural History’s statement.

Researchers first mistook the coin for an Anglo-Saxon penny

Museum researchers initially believed the coin was an Anglo-Saxon penny. That changed when Ann Skogsfjord read the inscription and realized the coin had been minted in Norway during Olaf’s reign.

“I saw the words ONLAF R+ NORMANORV written on it. … Is this really the Olaf Haraldsson coin I had?” Skogsfjord said in a statement. “And it was! It was a very special moment.”

Researchers said the coin was minted between about 1024 and 1028, near the end of the Viking Age. It remained in circulation for roughly 20 to 25 years before being placed in the hoard.

Although coin minting was a political and religious act, the coins also served as currency. Both sides of the newly discovered coin feature numerous small cut marks. These marks were commonly used to test whether a coin was made entirely of silver.

Grubeck said Olaf himself may have handled the coin, or at least may have been alive when it was minted.

“It is entirely possible that this very coin from Murstad was once in the hands of the king himself,” he said in a statement.

Find out how much you know about the ancient Norse people with this Viking quiz.