Contrary to popular belief, the Norse were widespread traders as well as raiders, and the prevalence of scales in grave goods attests to the importance of commerce in Scandinavian society. Scales were important tools for Viking merchants as they did not use any set form of coinage, instead basing value on the weight of metal, typically silver. Scales are crucial evidence for how the Norse exchanged goods, both internally and with other cultures. Scales were essential tools for Norse society as they were the basis for most trade undertaken, both in the faraway lands sailors would reach and at home.

Scales were typically crafted from metal, especially iron, but were made from many different materials based on location. Typically simple and unadorned, scales were used by merchants of both high and low class to measure the weight of valuable metals such as gold and silver.¹  While these instruments were typically plain, there are a few examples of more wealthy merchants carrying ornate scales made of more expensive metals. Scales are also mentioned in some of the sagas and other contemporary sources of the time, mostly during trades or exchanges.²  Scales were an integral part of various Viking Age transactions, from simple trades to larger ransoms.³

The widespread nature of scales contradicts the impression of the Norse as a warrior culture that we find in many medieval texts. There is mention of Norse traders, but it is always eclipsed by long descriptions of raids and battles with Scandinavian invaders. In reality, trade was likely just as important as raiding to the Scandinavian economy and both methods were probably seen as viable ways to acquire wealth.

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