Arabic coins found at site in Sweden

farthing

Link

Don't know if this has been posted yet - my connection in CDG is terrible! I've worked at Arlanda airport which is near the site the coins were found.

ASUtodd

I should have been an archaeoligist. Wonderful story!

Todd

newsman

Interesting -- I know the Vikings traded extensively with the Arabs, and this is further proof. Looks like some nice Sassanid and Umayyad coins in the picture.

Hyperion

Wow. this PROVES they were an advanced civilization (note the HOLED coins )

coachleonard

Which is why I think it's very possible that, someday, an Islamic silver coin will turn up in Newfoundland or thereabouts! Some of the coins
in that hoard though-- the Sassian ones with the bust-- are older than Viking Era. Aren't they? I'm thinking those were 600's A.D at the latest? Could be wrong. Then again, in ancient times, coins hung around for a long time.

svessien

The Vikings in Norway didn't have proper monetry system. I believe this was the case in Sweden too. There was no minting of coinage in Norway (yes, I know it's a Swedish story:-) ) before 1000 AD, and the minting of coins after that was not really a good working monetary system. Silver content was often low, and there was no real standard before a couple of hundred years later. English pennies were often used by Vikings, but they generally prefered Islamic dirhems, due to the high silver content of these.

As they had no working monetary system, coins were used in jewelry and as bullion payment. Going to their local store, I guess they only brought their sword :-D

ColinCMR

that's a long way to travel