The Viking World: A History in ObjectsMain MenuGallery viewA galleryTag Cloudtag cloud pageThemesA path of thematic categoriesAuthor IndexExplore the collection by authorWorks CitedReferencesAdam Bigelow3afa9c7ecebf516bba6609664b1b12f79c54bf77Caitlin Donahue61b7e986e7c71d400e5c803912ed83c0cf65252fCaroline Harvey1783f21a5882b5b4d3d0b6c174d058052a5ff7eaEdward Hershewee701ef220480b51ca728fc9c719bc094cf813655Martin Hoffmana1fd203afd9a84ee8db567e188cf6ed1d269386eTyler Hruby23493f763b312110686cfafc62578fd0ab5f3833Brittany N. Johnsonc1c1763339f8fa953e3c907c6bb8a3bad0c28b2cCarlos Lua Pineda0a28cc23b0aa00b4f24a9e205aeb57fbdb07ff01Moira McConnell710633400590ea38533ea3412c01fc5056288180Clara McCurdy9aec76477d0b55f9c685c47330d6786ec98182e1Elise McIlhaneyef48481634ff342c8b43c9d56f678b2d3562fb69Cameron Meikle669a5682bfbfd603130a26e25628f24eb07e6295Alexander Christopher Newkirk019c2f5b38c043507251d1789e2fdf47e61c3b7fBenja Reilly816c23aa0d444213fb2d1ef33555a15617e08228Oliver Statenc625ae8c3926f5e1a4268bc91d6a6f4cdb1e7fb6Liam Sullivanaa3a1dccb90c7fe4646b61c4af594abbb0c5574aRead Wilder31bf4715220144a665996f2e6cae80a1a8611eadAliza Yazdanicd49f227d88c72331226ddf574bf56c37308cd10Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707dea
12017-05-21T13:43:02-07:00Silver Ingot7object pageplain2017-09-21T22:43:33-07:00Thisingot shows how the Scandinavian bullion system was still in effect in Scandinavian Britain during the rule of the Danelaw and perhaps coexisted with the British coin-based system. The ingot was found in December of 2004 in North Yorkshire. It dates to around 850 to 1000 CE and is made almost entirely of silver. There are clear signs that this ingot served some sort of monetary function. The flat shape of the ingot was most likely created by a hammer. The nick marks on the sides of the ingot are evidence that the object was once tested in an attempt to determine if it was silver, a common Norse practice. Furthermore, one end of the ingot ends in a cut, indicating that this may have originally been a longer object that was divided in two. Further support for this theory comes from the fact that the weight of the ingot, 13.34 grams, is roughly half an eyrir, a Norse unit of weight.[1] Therefore, it is likely that this ingot was used as currency in the Danelaw.
The presence of this ingot in an area that was occupied by the Norse suggest that the Scandinavian bullion system that was developed during the Viking Age, including the “standardized” weights, was brought into England during the time of the Danelaw. This system was based around the amount of precious material, like silver or gold, that an object contained rather than the face value of a coin as was practiced in England.[2] Such a system developed during the Viking Age due to the trading and raiding that the Norse carried out, as once they collected their goods, they would not need to exchange these goods for coins. This ingot is therefore particularly interesting as it shows how, even though they were living next to a coin-based system, the Scandinavians either disregarded the face value of the coin and only judged it by its weight, or they used both systems concurrently.