Rare trove of Viking coins discovered by amateurs

Thousand-year-old coins from the age of Harald Bluetooth were found in a field by three young men using metal detectors

A trove of 200 Viking coins that was uncovered in a field in North Jutland is considered to be one of the most significant archaeological discovery in decades.

A team of three amateur archaeologists, the youngest just 16 years old, found the silver coins using metal detectors last September in a field near the northern Jutland town of Strandby.

The coins date back to around the year 990 under the rein of Harald Bluetooth and include rare ‘korsmønter’, crossed coins, that are considered to be Denmark's first national coin.

“Korsmønter aren’t something that are found every day and the enormous quantity is also exceptional,” Sidsel Wåhlin from Vendsyssel Historisk Museum told Radio24syv. “We have never uncovered such a large find from the period in northern Jutland.”

Professional archaeologists who have just completed the first phase of digging in the field near Strandby said digging would continue.

“It’s no coincidence that the treasure is buried there,” Wåhlin told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “We will continue and hope to find much more about the dwelling.”

The coins will first be exhibited at Vendsyssel Historisk Museum before being transported to the National Museum in Copenhagen which will determine whether the three men, two brothers and their friend, are entitled to a reward.

You can read more about their discovery on their website.

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