– The experience of finding a piece of our rich cultural history is an honour, says Øyvind Arnestad Nilsen. On a field near Steig gard in Gudbrandsdalen, Nilsen found what would turn out to be one of his best finds to date. A coin, of the double white type in silver. But without a king’s head or other royal symbols that otherwise mark the coins – It’s not just my discovery, but a common blessing for everyone in this country, says the metal detectorist from Rogaland. The coin that was found is very rare, according to the archaeologist. Photo: Frode Meskau / news Great historical value Part of what separates this coin from other coins is that it comes from a very limited era – when there was no king who ruled the country. – The historical value of this coin is enormous, says May-Tove Smiseth, archaeologist in Innlandet county municipality. It is mostly the king who has had the sole right to strike, or make, coins. Noregs Bank took over responsibility for the mint and the operation of the Royal Mint from the Ministry of Finance in 1962. Historically, the King has had the sole right to mint coins. On today’s 10- and 20-crown coins, there is a portrait of King Harald. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB But for just over a year, from 14 April 1523 to 6 August 1524, Norway was without a king after Christian II, king of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, was deposed in a rebellion. Then the Danish lord of the castle Hans Mule decided to mint a coin at Akershus fortress. The coin he struck was double white in silver – the type that was found in Gudbrandsdalen this autumn. – It is very good that coins are picked up from the topsoil and saved. This was discovered at the last minute, when we see how it has been treated in the topsoil, says archaeologist May-Tove Smiseth. Photo: Frode Meskau / news How many coins Mule struck, no one knows, but it was probably a few. – We find almost none of those coins. They disappeared, were traded away or melted down. This is one of the few that have appeared with us, says Smiseth. – Very rare Now the coin will go to the Cultural History Museum in Oslo. Svein Harald Gullbekk is a professor there. He describes the coin find as interesting. – It is very rare that we get such double whites in, he says. He knows about such a coin from before. It was sold at an auction last year for NOK 140,000. This copy comes from Adler Pedersen, a well-known Danish coin collector’s collection. Professor at the Cultural History Museum in Oslo (UiO), Svein Harald Gullbekk. Photo: UiO Gullbekk underlines that there are several examples of people other than the king minting coins in Norway. Among other things, Duke Skule Bårdsson issued coins together with the child king Håkon Håkonsson towards the end of the 1210s. Later in the 13th century, Duke Håkon issued coins with his own name. Norwegian archbishops did the same in the 13th century and in the late Middle Ages. Historic place How this rare coin ended up 250 kilometers from Akershus fortress and on a field at Steig gard, no one knows. The garden has played a major historical role and was mentioned for the first time in the string saga. It has also been a royal residence for several hundred years. For 13 generations, the family of Karen Elise Steig bought the farm. She lives on the farm today, together with August Johan Evensen. Karen Elise Steig and August Johan Evensen own the historic farm Steig gard. Photo: Frode Meskau / news – I think it’s very funny that such things are found here. It is special to have it in front of you and actually see that there was someone here many hundreds of years ago, says Steig. – We never thought it would be something so exciting. We envisioned a small fragment, but then it was a coin, and not just any coin, says Evensen. According to history, there was a teamster on the farm during the period when the rare coin was minted. He sat in the National Council and helped govern the country. Many coin finds have been made on the farm in Sør-Fron in Gudbrandsdalen. If the coins are younger than from 1650, they mostly get to keep the coins themselves. Photo: Frode Meskau / news Looking further Despite a very rare find, metal detectorist Øystein Arnestad Nilsen will continue the hunt for historical objects underground. – The desire and urge to go out on the land again is just as great, he says. Øyvind Arnestad Nilsen will continue to look for treasures under the ground. One day he hopes to find a gold coin. Photo: Thomas Ystrøm / news For two years he has searched with a metal detector. In that time he has been able to tick off many items he could only dream of finding. But one thing stands. – A gold coin. It would have been a wonderful experience. We’ll see how many months or years it will be before I find it, says Nilsen.
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Found a unique coin in Gudbrandsdalen from the time when Norway did not have a king – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
