Archaeologists find rare coin from King Olaf Haraldsson in Norway

Archaeologist Anne Skogsfjord identified a rare coin from the reign of King Olaf Haraldsson within the Mørstad Hoard in Norway.

The hoard was originally discovered in April by metal detectorists Vegard Sørlie and Rune Sætre in the town of Rena. Skogsfjord discovered the artifact while cataloging the coins, which included the largest Viking Age coin hoard ever found in the country.

The coin features a portrait of Haraldsson wearing a conical battle helmet on one side and a cross on three steps on the other. These designs were likely modeled after Anglo-Saxon pennies from the reign of Cnut the Great. Experts believe the king used these coins to establish his status as a Christian ruler and to promote the new faith throughout Scandinavia.

The coin shows small knife cuts, which suggest people used it for commercial transactions to test the silver content. This discovery is notable because fewer than 20 coins from Haraldsson's reign have survived to the present day. Only four coins of this specific type have ever been found, with only one of those appearing in Norway since 1924.

The Museum of Cultural History of the University of Oslo stated that the coin provides tangible evidence of the period when the foundations of the Norwegian kingdom were established. The artifact will appear in an exhibition at the Historical Museum in Norway on November 20.