🪙 Viking coins made with Islamic silver
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A recent study of the Damhus Hoard, discovered in 2018 near Ribe, Denmark, reveals that these coins, dated from 830 to 850 AD, contain metal from the famous Arab dirhams. This link attests to trade routes between Vikings and Arabs much earlier than previously imagined.
Photographic example of silver pennies of the "Damhus" type (KG 4) from the Damhus Hoard, illustrating a subtle variation: a face appears on one side ("Wodan"), while the other shows a stag facing forward ("Monster"), hence their name "Wodan/Monster" type. Their maximum diameter is 19.5 mm (approx. 0.77 in) and their weight varies between 0.8 and 1.25 g (0.028 to 0.044 oz), averaging 0.98 g (0.035 oz).
Scale (bottom left): 10 mm (approx. 0.39 in).
Photographs by Claus Feveile.
The Damhus Hoard contains 226 Viking pennies, among the oldest ever discovered. Their study, published in the journal Archaeometry, shows that these coins were far more valuable than today: a single penny could buy beer, bread, or simple tools.
The name "penny" comes from Old English "pening," comparable to the German "pfennig." The coins are remarkably well preserved, with the face of the god Odin or Wodan on one side and a stag on the other.
Scientists analyzed 25 of these coins using X-ray fluorescence and isotopic techniques. The results indicate that more than half of the silver used came from Islamic dirhams melted into ingots. These ingots were then transported to the Ribe mint, where they were struck into coins.
The researchers identified at least thirty different dies, indicating the production of hundreds of thousands of pennies in this workshop.
These analyses offer a glimpse into the early Viking Age, a period marked by the Lindisfarne raid in 793 and ending in 1066 at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. At the time of the Damhus Hoard, Denmark was still divided into pagan kingdoms, long before its unification by Harald Bluetooth.
Islamic silver then arrived in Scandinavia, likely through long-distance trade, as also evidenced by Islamic jewelry found in the region.