Norway's largest coin hoard gets even larger

"The largest Viking-era coin hoard ever found in Norway is getting larger by the minute. When the discovery was announced less than two weeks ago, the number of silver coins had just passed 3,000. Today the number of coins in the 11th century Mrstad hoard has skyrocketed past 4,167 with more being found daily. The 4,167 milestone is the total of all four of the other major Viking hoards discovered in Norway combined. As of two days ago, the total was up to 4,344. It will soon make the top 10 in Scandinavia."

"The metal detecting survey is complete, but the coins keep coming. Archaeologists from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo have now taken over the excavation and are using heavy machinery to remove the topsoil. The topsoil is so thick at the site that metal detectors couldn't penetrate it, but now that it's been peeled back, the team is still pulling between 70 and 100 coins a day."

"The 4,000 coin is a Danish penny minted by order of Harthacnut, future King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042, and King of England for the last two of those years. It was minted in Lund between 1030 and 1035, the last years of his father Knut's government. The number of early Harald Hardrade coins, the first coins to be minted in Norway, found in the hoard has gone up to four. They were all minted shortly after he became king around 104647. They have a higher silver content that the later issues."

"When he began, the only coins in the country were foreign and were used in pieces for the silver weight and tested for value when exchanged. Only about 15-20 of these early coins have been found before now, and none of them in sterdalen in eastern Norway. By the time of Harald Hardrade's death 20 years later, two thirds of the coins circulating in Norway had been minted there and were being used as actual coins for their nominal value, not for the assayed silver content."

A Viking-era coin hoard at Mrstad in Norway has increased rapidly since its announcement, with the number of silver coins rising from just over 3,000 to more than 4,167 and continuing to grow daily. The 4,167-coin mark equals the combined total of four other major Viking hoards found in Norway, and the overall count reached 4,344 two days earlier. Metal detecting surveys are complete, but excavation continues after topsoil was removed with heavy machinery, allowing detectors to work and yielding 70 to 100 coins per day. The hoard includes Danish pennies minted by Harthacnut in Lund between 1030 and 1035, and early Harald Hardrade coins with higher silver content, with only a few previously known. Harald Hardrade’s reign marked a shift from foreign, weighed silver to locally minted coins used at nominal value.

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