One of the iconic ideas associated with the Norse is that of plunder and loot. While treasure was not actually as large of a piece of the culture as is generally thought, this silver penny is one of many actual pieces of money that the Norse people encountered. The coin in question is made of silver and was minted in the 11th century in Lund, Denmark.¹ King Sven Estridsen had it made with a very interesting design on it. This pattern holds the key to two of the more interesting things to note about this penny. First, this coin is a symbol of the interconnectedness of the Viking Age. As a piece of money, it would have been used for trading. While Norse peoples did not initially have a coinage system, they eventually developed one after years of first raiding, and then trading with English, European, Byzantine, and Muslim merchants.² This penny is one of the coins that developed out of that exposure. The stamped-on pattern is a copy of a gold Byzantine coin.¹ This kind of copy might have made the coin seem more legitimate to foreign traders who were familiar with the widely used Byzantine coins. Thus, the Scandinavian connections to other parts of the world through trade are represented in this coin.
The markings on the silver penny also hold evidence against a common misconception. The images of both Christ and the archangel Michael are clearly Christian in nature. By this time, the 11th Century, despite their common portrayal as pagans, the Norse people had been converted to Christianity.² These pictures are evidence of the spread of this religion throughout the Norse world.

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