Rare Saint Olaf Penny Found in Norway's Largest Viking Hoard
A unique silver penny issued by King Olaf Haraldsson has been identified within Norway's vast Mørstad Hoard, offering new evidence of how Viking rulers used coinage to promote Christianity and royal authority.
Archaeologist Anne Skogsfjord has identified a rare silver penny of Olaf Haraldsson within Norway's largest Viking coin hoard. The Mørstad Hoard contains just over 5,500 coins, with this Olaf penny being one of only four known examples of its specific type.
Fewer than twenty coins issued by Olaf Haraldsson, also known as Saint Olaf, are known to survive today. Most have been found outside Norway. Only one other coin of this king had previously been discovered within the country, back in 1924. The newly identified piece is therefore a sensation, a key piece of material culture directly linked to a key figure in Norway's history.
The coin’s design reflects Olaf’s Christian and royal messaging
The coin's iconography is a clear statement of faith and power. It bears a left-facing portrait of Olaf Haraldsson wearing a conical battle helmet. In front of the portrait is a Golgotha cross, a cross on three steps. The inscription around the edge reads 'ONLAF R+ NORMANORV', meaning 'Olaf, King of the Norwegians'.
The reverse side features a double cross. While the final letters on this coin are worn, the full inscription from other examples is known to be '+CE DVX DOMINNVS MEI' or 'My leader, my lord'. This design confirms Olaf Haraldsson's emphasis on Christianization. The king, who reigned from 1015 to 1028, is credited with spreading Christianity in Norway and died at the Battle of Stiklestad, later becoming Norway's patron saint.
Scholars highlight the coin’s historical and symbolic significance
Numismatists note the coin's extraordinary rarity and its role as a tool of legitimation. Svein H. Gullbekk, a professor of numismatics at the Museum of Cultural History, described it as a coin commemorating Christianisation on a grand scale. He explained that King Olaf used the coinage to legitimise the new faith and to legitimise himself as a Christian king of European standing. Gullbekk added it is possible the coin was held in Olaf Haraldsson’s own hand.
Three different issues of Olaf Haraldsson pennies are known, all modelled after Anglo-Saxon pennies struck under Cnut the Great. This specific issue dates to between 1024 and 1028. Researchers observed small knife cuts on both sides of the coin, marks used to check its silver content during transactions. This indicates the coin likely changed hands several times during 20 to 25 years of circulation before being buried.
Jon Anders Risvaag, a numismatist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said finding an Olaf Haraldsson coin is like finding a needle in a haystack. The coins of Olaf and his predecessor Olaf Tryggvason were not primarily economic instruments but demonstrations of status and kingship.
The coin will go on public display this November
The Olaf Haraldsson penny will be exhibited for the first time at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo starting November 20th, as part of a new exhibition. Meanwhile, the full task of documenting and cataloguing the entire Mørstad Hoard, which yielded this treasure, is expected to take more than a year to complete.
