Did the Vikings reach Maine?

In 1957, an amateur archaeologist working at a Native American site in Maine discovered a mysterious treasure. It is a 900-year-old Norse silver coin from the Late Viking Age (793-1066 AD).

The artifact, also known as the “Maine Penny,” is now housed at the Maine State Museum. This discovery raised many questions. Primarily, how did they get there, and does their presence in Maine mean the Vikings reached the Pine Tree State?

The Vikings were skilled seafarers with outposts from the Ukraine to Canada, so it’s possible they reached Maine. Vikings and their descendants colonized Greenland from the late 10th century to the 15th century. They also had an outpost at L’Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland, Canada, which was in use in the 11th century.

you may like

Norse sagas tell of the Viking voyages to North America. This includes a trip to a place called “Vinland” (meaning “land of wine”) where grapes are said to grow. Although grapes are grown in Maine, archaeologists have not discovered any Viking-era settlements or artifacts other than Penny. However, many experts have opined on this issue through academic journal articles and books.

What is the main penny?

The coin, which researchers generally agree is authentic, was minted during the reign of King Olaf III of Norway from around 1066 to 1093, writes Gordon Campbell, professor emeritus of Renaissance studies at the University of Leicester, in his book Nordic America: The Story of a Founding Myth (Oxford University Press, 2021). Campbell noted that in 1979, Norwegian numismatist Korbjorn Skare dated the coin to between 1065 and 1080.

The coin is in poor condition and some of the engravings are difficult to see. One side of the coin has a cross, which looks like a circle surrounding it. The other side is badly damaged and only a few lines are visible. These lines may have once formed a figure depicting King Olaf III.

The coin was discovered in what is now known as the Goddard Ruins in the coastal town of Brooklyn. It was a Native American trading center in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, Campbell wrote. The coin has holes and may have been used as a pendant. It also has wear and chips, suggesting it may have passed through many hands over a long period of time before arriving in Maine.

How did the coin get to Maine?

Scholars interviewed by Live Science tended to believe the coins reached Maine through Native American trade networks.

“The Maine State Museum’s position is that the coins reached the Goddard site through downstream trade,” Andrew Beaupre, curator of archaeological collections at the Maine State Museum, told Live Science in an email. “Goddard has been determined to be a trading center for Native Americans. The Norse coins are not the only artifacts that have been traced to the Canadian Maritime Subarctic, an area stretching from the Labrador Sea to the Northwest Territories.” Other finds at Goddard in this northern region include Indigenous stone tools “that can be traced back to Newfoundland/Labrador,” he said.

“At this time, there is no valid archaeological evidence that Northern Europeans ever visited or settled in Maine,” Beaupre said. However, he noted that Vikings may have been traveling down the coast of Maine from Newfoundland in the 11th century.

Professor Svein Grubek of the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo, who has studied the coin extensively, agreed that the most likely explanation is that the coin arrived in Maine as Native Americans traded with each other.

“We believe this 11th-century Norwegian coin provides solid evidence of cultural and economic contact between Native Americans, Inuit, and Norsemen,” Grubeck told LiveScience via email. “My view is that it followed a Native American route, and perhaps… [jewelry]Not a financial thing.

Joel Anderson, associate professor of history at the University of Maine, has a similar view. “I think the ‘Native American trade route’ hypothesis is the most plausible,” Anderson told LiveScience in an email. He knows of no other evidence of Vikings in Maine. “While not beyond the realm of possibility, the available evidence does not support such a conclusion,” he said.

Viking Quiz: How much do you know about these maritime raiders, traders and explorers?