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Metal detectorist finds "very rare" ancient gold coin in Norway — over 1,600 miles away from its origin
CBS News ^ | DECEMBER 5, 2023 / 12:01 PM EST | BY EMILY MAE CZACHOR

Posted on 12/05/2023 12:14:36 PM PST by Red Badger

A "very rare" ancient gold coin found recently in the mountains of central Norway could be lost cash that once belonged to an early monarch, according to Norwegian officials.

The gold coin was discovered by a metal detectorist in Vestre Slidre, a rural city known for skiing, in Norway's south-central Innlandet County. Technically called "histamenon nomisma," the coin was first introduced around 960 C.E. and used as standard Byzantine currency, the Innlandet County Municipality said in a news release. That means the artifact would have traveled more than 1,600 miles from its origin site to the spot where it was found.

"It has held up exceptionally well. The coin appears largely unchanged from when it was lost, perhaps a thousand years ago," the news release said.

Christ is depicted on one side of the coin. MARTINE KASPERSEN/INNLANDET COUNTY MUNICIPALITY The ancient coin was introduced in the Byzantine Empire, also called the Eastern Roman Empire, and likely was minted in Constantinople, the Byzantine capital that is Istanbul today. It is decorated on both faces, with one side appearing to show an embossed illustration of Christ holding a Bible. The other side appears to depict the former Byzantine emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII, according to Innlandet County. The two brothers were named co-rulers of the Byzantine Empire toward the end of the 9th century. Knowing the time frame of their reign, officials say the coin found in Norway was probably minted at some point between 977 and 1025 C.E.

The coin has written inscriptions, too. One, written in Latin by the stamp of Christ, says, "Jesus Christ, King of those who reign." The other, written in Greek on the coin's opposite side, says, "Basil and Constantine, emperors of the Romans," according to the county.

The emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII are likely depicted on the other side of the coin. MARTINE KASPERSEN/INNLANDET COUNTY MUNICIPALITY At the height of its power, the Byzantine Empire comprised much of the land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including parts of Italy, Greece and Turkey, as well as portions of northern Africa and the Middle East. Innlandet officials have speculated about the route over which the gold coin could have traveled to end up where it did, and why that might have happened.

One possible explanation is that it once belonged to Harald Hardråde, a Norwegian king who ruled from 1046 to 1066 C.E., after previously serving as a guard for the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople.

"At that time it was customary for the guards to be given the right to loot the palace and take all the valuables they could find when the emperor died. During Harald's time in Byzantium, three emperors had died," officials said. So, the former king could have acquired the gold coin in Constantinople and taken it back with him to Norway.

The gold coin could have also made its way into Norway's early salt trade, which had transport routes that ran perpendicular from western Norway across the country.

Because the metal detectorist found the coin so late in the fall season, the spot where it was discovered will not be investigated further until next year.

This was not the first time a metal detectorist struck gold while probing the land in Norway. Over the summer, a Norwegian man found nine pendants, three rings and 10 gold pearls with a metal detector in the southern island of Rennesoey, near the city of Stavanger. And, in October, the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo announced that dozens of ancient gold-foil figures depicting images of Norse gods were found at the site of a pagan temple near a farm in Vingrom, about 100 miles south of the capital city.


TOPICS: History; Outdoors; Travel; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: ancientgoldcoin; basilii; basilthebulgarslayer; bulgaroctonus; byzantineempire; coin; coins; constantineviii; epigraphyandlanguage; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; gold; goldcoin; haraldhardrade; hardraada; histamenonnomisma; innlandetcounty; middleages; norway; porphyrogenitus; romanempire; vestreslidre
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To: Red Badger

Unlike the coinage of earlier civilizations that took things seriously, ours will decay like bottle-caps because our governments are basically shoddy unserious slum-lords.


21 posted on 12/05/2023 1:16:43 PM PST by SpaceBar
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To: SpaceBar

East German coins were made of aluminum......................


22 posted on 12/05/2023 1:17:56 PM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

I have a Weimar Germany coin. It’s a 1924 Deutsches Reich 10 Rentenpfennig.


23 posted on 12/05/2023 1:27:54 PM PST by EvilCapitalist (81 million votes my ass.)
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To: Red Badger

I am curious as to how many days’ pay that would represent at the time of minting.
Anyone?


24 posted on 12/05/2023 1:40:04 PM PST by Honest Nigerian
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To: Red Badger; SaveFerris; PROCON; gundog

Does the coin have a hole in the middle? I did that at 100 yards.


25 posted on 12/05/2023 1:47:56 PM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: Red Badger

Basil II, also known as Bulgaroktonos: that is, “The Bulgar Slayer”.


26 posted on 12/05/2023 1:52:16 PM PST by Antoninus (Republicans are all honorable men.)
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To: Red Badger

“Jesus Christ, King of those who reign.”

IOW, the Social Kingship of Christ.

100% pure Catholic doctrine. Then, now and always.

In modern secular society, of course, it’s scoffed at.


27 posted on 12/05/2023 2:05:22 PM PST by one guy in new jersey
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To: Honest Nigerian
"I am curious as to how many days’ pay that would represent at the time of minting." mating.

Part of the fur trade? Keeping warm was paramount!

28 posted on 12/05/2023 2:16:01 PM PST by outofsalt (If history teaches us anything, it's that history rarely teaches anything.)
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To: Red Badger

Maybe it was carried by a sparrow …


29 posted on 12/05/2023 2:26:09 PM PST by 11th_VA (<>< Good News: Barbarians at not at the gate; Bad News: They’re in the city)
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To: Larry Lucido

“I don’t want to hear how interesting the change with the hole in it is.”


30 posted on 12/05/2023 2:30:18 PM PST by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: Red Badger

I assume the guy won’t get to keep his find.


31 posted on 12/05/2023 3:25:49 PM PST by fso301
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To: Red Badger
Christ is depicted on one side of the coin. / Credit: Martine Kaspersen/Innlandet County Municipality
32 posted on 12/05/2023 7:01:39 PM PST by zeestephen (Trump "Lost" By 43,000 Votes - Spread Across Three States - GA, WI, AZ)
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To: Red Badger; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...
Thanks Red Badger.

33 posted on 12/06/2023 5:27:46 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: woodbutcher1963

“ Rick from Pawn Stars will give you $100 for it.”

That cheapskate is taking advantage of them .
I will offer $110.


34 posted on 12/06/2023 5:31:19 AM PST by HereInTheHeartland (Have you seen Joe Biden's picture on a milk carton?)
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35 posted on 12/06/2023 5:32:52 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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202 topics in the Byzantine Empire keyword, here are the other 201:

36 posted on 12/06/2023 5:49:12 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Red Badger

That’s AWSOME! thanks for posting that incredible find! That is what makes history so incredible! Where it was found tells the story of long intercourse between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Vikings. Just incredible to see the legend of the Varangian guards power and wealth displayed.


37 posted on 12/06/2023 7:16:20 AM PST by DariusBane (Liberty and Risk. Flip sides of the same coin. So how much risk will YOU accept? Vive Deo et Vives)
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