Minted more than 1,000 years ago as an imitation of a more famous coin, the gold coin may be a relic of the “Great Heathen Army” that invaded England in 865. This invasion created a Viking kingdom there known as the Danelaw.
Metal detectors discovered the coin in a field near Elsing, a village in Norfolk, on England’s east coast, in 2024, according to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, run by the British Museum and the Welsh Museum Amgefa Cymru. Elsing was one of the first areas invaded by Viking forces.
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Importantly, this coin was a pure gold imitation of an earlier “Solidus” coin minted by Carolingian Emperor Louis the Pious (son of Charlemagne) some 50 years earlier.
He said the original solidi were given to noble Carolingian nobility, but later copies were probably made in Frisia, a region that now straddles the northern Netherlands and the western edge of Germany, and were used as “portable riches” throughout Scandinavia.
It was probably worn as a talisman by one of the Viking invaders. “The specimen found in Norfolk is an exceptional specimen compared to most specimens,” Coupland said.
gold pendant
The object is currently undergoing an official investigation to determine whether it is a “treasure” that must be transferred or sold to a museum, with Norwich Castle Museum in Norfolk also expressing interest.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme website notes that the coin is depicted passing through Emperor Louis’ head twice, suggesting that when worn as a medallion, the “head” side would have faced forward.
The other side of the coin depicts a Christian cross, which was probably not favored by the Viking invaders who wore it. (Vikings and other Norse peoples, originating from the central Kingdom of Denmark, did not begin to convert to Christianity until the late 10th century.)
The Viking army, known by Christian Britons as the “Great Heathen Army,” began its invasion in 865 under the Danish chieftains Ivar the Boneless (the meaning of the name unknown), Halfdan, and Ubba. All three chieftains claimed to be the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok, a legendary Viking hero and king from Norse mythology.
Experts debate whether the army consisted of as few as 1,000 Viking warriors or more than 5,000, but as the fighting continued, they received reinforcements from Scandinavia in 871, and in 878 Viking leaders negotiated the Treaty of the Danelaws with King Alfred the Great of England.
This treaty kept invaders away from Alfred’s lands, and a Viking kingdom with its own laws was established in much of eastern and northern England for over 50 years. In the following decades, Alfred’s successors again merged Viking territory into the Kingdom of England, which fell to the Norman Conquest in 1066.
Viking Quiz: How much do you know about these maritime raiders, traders and explorers?
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