Metal detectorists discover 1,000-year-old Viking coins in major find

Newsweek unveils that a remarkable discovery has shed light on the Viking Age economy, as metal detectorists John Crowe and David O'Hare unearthed a treasure hoard on the Isle of Man.

A significant trove of Viking Age treasure, estimated to be around 1,000 years old, has been unearthed by metal detector enthusiasts. John Crowe and David O'Hare discovered the hoard in May while scanning the grounds on the Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown dependency situated between Great Britain and Ireland in the Irish Sea.

The collection includes approximately 36 silver Viking Age coins, both intact and fragmented, which have now been officially designated as Treasure by the Isle of Man's Deputy Coroner of Inquests, Rebecca Cubbon, as announced by Manx National Heritage. The Viking Age, spanning from the late 8th to the 11th centuries, was marked by the Norsemen, or Vikings, a seafaring Scandinavian people known for their raids, colonization, and extensive trade across Europe and beyond.

The Isle of Man boasts a rich Viking heritage, with Norsemen first arriving in the region during the 9th century, engaging in raiding and trading before ultimately establishing settlements. Its central location within the British Isles made the Isle of Man an ideal trading post for the Vikings and later a site for settlement. The island’s Viking legacy remains visible today through burial mounds, settlements, and other archaeological artifacts, with many relics and graves from this era having been discovered on the Isle of Man. Following the recent discovery of the hoard by Crowe and O'Hare on the Isle of Man, the treasure was examined by Kristin Bornholdt Collins, an independent researcher and numismatist from New Hampshire.

Collins, a recognized authority on Viking Age coins from the Isle of Man, verified that the hoard contains coins minted in various locations across England and Ireland between approximately A.D. 1000 and 1065. It appears that the hoard was abandoned just before A.D. 1070. Among the coins, some were minted during the reign of Canute (also spelled Cnut), a Viking leader known for unifying the kingdoms of England, Denmark, and Norway into what is often referred to as the North Sea Empire.

Canute ruled England from 1016, Denmark from 1018, and Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. Additionally, some coins minted in Ireland bear the likeness of Sihtric Silkbeard, a Viking ruler who reigned as king of Dublin from A.D. 989 to 1036.

"This is an extraordinary find that enhances our understanding of the intricate Viking Age economy on the Isle of Man, where more Viking Age silver has been discovered per square kilometer than in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales combined," said Allison Fox, Manx National Heritage's curator for archaeology, in a press release. 

The diversity of locations where the coins were minted reflects a dynamic and mobile economy in the Irish Sea region during the Viking Age. During this time, trade and currency circulated throughout Ireland and England, with the Isle of Man serving as a significant hub.

"This new hoard can be likened to a wallet filled with various credit cards, notes, and coins from different countries, similar to what one might carry while traveling abroad, showcasing the range of currencies accessible to traders or residents of the Isle of Man during this period," Collins noted in the release.

By Naila Huseynova