![]() ![]() King Eirik then put an axe between its paws and a crown on its head. In keeping with the ideals of the time, the choice fell on something as unoriginal as a lion. King Eirik Magnusson (1280-1299) designed the Norwegian national coat of arms as we know it today. ![]() “One possibility is that we are facing something that, from a historical perspective, is very interesting- and that means the history of Norwegian coin use in the Middle Ages must be rewritten,” he says. “In other parts of the country, discoveries by hobbyists made in recent years are quite different from the findings archaeologists have made during 150 years of work,” Gullbekk says. So only hobbyists from three counties -Troms, Nordland and Oppland - find the same proportion of Norwegian to foreign coins as archaeologists. These coins were mostly made at mints in Oslo, Trondheim and Bergen. Gullbekk notes that Troms and Nordland were not exactly a hotbed for producing Norwegian medieval coins. “Metal detector hobbyists in Troms alone have found more valuable Norwegian coins from the Middle Ages than found by people with detectors in the counties Østfold, Vestfold, Hedmark, Agder and Oslo - combined!” he says. The proportion is almost as great as what archaeologists themselves find when they search with metal detectors or use other techniques to dig up medieval treasures. It turns out that in counties like Troms, Nordland and Oppland, metal detector hobbyists often report Norwegian medieval coins. When Gullbekk and his research colleagues compared findings from different parts of Norway, they discovered a very surprising pattern. “Is it possible that if a hobbyist finds an English coin, he hands it in, but if he finds a more valuable Norwegian coin from the Middle Ages, he keeps it for himself?” he asks. Gullbekk says this makes him feel like he has to ask a cheeky question. When hobbyists find medieval coins in counties such as Østfold, Vestfold, Agder and Oslo, 80-90 per cent of what they report to authorities are foreign coins, mostly English coins of little value.Ī medieval English penny is typically worth around NOK 500, or about EUR 50.Ī Norwegian coin from the Middle Ages can bring prices from NOK 10,000 and up to NOK 50,000, or EUR 1000 to 5000, says Gullbekk. When archaeologists examine coin hoards, or coins found under the floors of Norwegian medieval churches, they almost always find that 90 per cent of the coins are Norwegian. “It may mean we have to change our understanding of the distribution between Norwegian coins and foreign coins during the Norwegian high Middle Ages.” “The detector finds from large parts of Norway paint a whole new picture,” Gullbekk says. This was a time when the country was ruled by famous kings such as Magnus VI (Magnus Lagabøte, 1263–1280), Eirik II Magnusson (1280–1299), Duke Håkon (1284–1299) and Håkon V Magnusson (1299–1319).Īll of these rulers were interested in coins and the country’s new Norwegian coinage. These finds have given researchers access to large quantities of empirical information, allowing them to conduct exciting research on Norwegian history from around the year 1000 to the 1300s. He says that more than 24,000 medieval coins have been found in a number of different places in Norway. Gullbekk is a professor in the Section for Numismatics and Classical Archaeology at the University of Oslo’s Museum of Cultural History. On the front it says "ONLAF REX NORmannorum" (Olav King of the Norwegians) and on the back GODWINE MO NOR (Godwine coin master in Norway) (Image from Wikipedia) Magnus VI and Håkon Vīut Svein Gullbekk says that something isn’t quite right here. After 2012, all denominations of Krone were removed from circulation, making the 1 Krone the coin with the lowest face value.The first Norwegian coin from the year 995, minted under King Olav Tryggvason. Norway gained its independence from Sweden in 1905, after a peaceful dissolution of the union.Īs of 1875, the currency of Norway is the Krone, with a denomination of 100 Øre = 1 Krone. Norway entered a union with Denmark until 1814, when a new union with Sweden was established. ![]() The early history of Norway starts with the Viking age, where exploration, colonisation and raiding, saw Norwegian vikings colonise Iceland and part of western England and Ireland and they discovered Newfoundland in Canada. The current king is Harald V and was inaugurated in 1991. Norway has a total population of 5,2 million, spread in an area of 385 000 sq km, making it one of the least dense countries in the world. The kingdom of Norway is located at the western part of the Scandinavian peninsula and is famous for its fjords, salmon and viking tradition. ![]()
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