Viking Objects
Northumbrian Viking Penny (CM.952-2000)
This Sword St. Peter type silver penny is not associated with any particular ruler but was minted in the Viking kingdom of Northumbria. The coin features a sword image which is usually considered to represent the sword of St Peter, whose name features on the same side of the coin, and a hammer which is often taken to be Thor’s hammer, thus mixing the iconography of the Christian and Norse religions. It was found as part of the Thurcaston hoard which was probably buried c.923-925 CE, approximately five years after Leicester had been retaken by Mercia (c.918). The coins in the hoard are Anglo-Saxon, Arabic and Danelaw issues, showing the wide-ranging contacts between societies at this time. After the establishment of the Danelaw, some Viking leaders decided to mint their own coins to solidify their legitimacy in the eyes of the local populace. This created a hybrid economy where some members of the Danelaw used bullion and others used coins. The bullion economy resulted in some coins being cut into pieces to pay for items.
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Viking Objects
Quartered Carolingian Gold Solidus (CM.163-2010)
This gold solidus of the Carolingian emperor, Louis the Pious (778-840 CE), was cut into pieces as hack-gold. Unlike the imitation gold solidus from the same era, it has not been cut carefully into quarters. Instead it has been snipped to the right size for weighing. Gold coins were used in the Carolingian empire until it adopted a silver standard.
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Viking Objects
Decorative Sword Mount (WMID-2FF927)
A cast copper alloy sword mount with English Urnes style decoration which could have been used on the sword pommel. Pommel mounts developed over time from simple rounded or triangular pieces of metal to more stylized multi-pronged designs. They could be decorated with various inlays or gilding. Pommel mounts are often the only indicators for attributing swords to typologies and, therefore, dating them.
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Viking Objects
Copper Alloy Pendant (L.A18.1860.0.0)
A Viking-style copper-alloy pendant with zoomorphic and open knotwork interlace design. Pendants were worn as jewellery and came in a variety of shapes and styles showing the influences of the local cultures with whom the Vikings came into contact. Pendants were a popular dress accessory in Norway and Sweden and sometimes were worn with beads between a pair of oval brooches. In England, pendants did not have the same popularity and there do not seem to be any contemporary Anglo-Saxon pendants.
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Viking Objects
Anglo-Saxon Zoomorphic Strap-End (NCMG 2003-27; T2001:2 ; 2002 T21)
A large silver strap-end with simple chevron decoration and six incised panels of ribbon knotwork divided by curved laddered frames. This strap-end is typical of ninth-century Anglo-Saxon design from the Yorkshire school. The border design is also found on the Trewhiddle type but due to its lower quality execution this strap-end is probably an imitation. Strap-ends came in various styles and were fairly common throughout the Viking world. They were used to decorate the ends of belts and to stop them getting damaged.