Written by A Viking Age silver hoard found in the village of Rena, Norway has yielded a very rare coin. Rare because it bears the name of King Olaf Haraldsson, known as Olaf the Holy. Only about 20 like coins have been found. Vikings were not known for being picky about gold and silver coins. The wight and purity of precious metal was more important than who minted it. King Olaf felt differently about money.
Minted approximately between 1024 and 1028, at the end of the Viking Age, the rare Olaf coins each bare a Christian cross. King Olaf used currency to convert heathens into Christians. Svein Gullbekk, an expert at the University of Oslo, said the Olaf coin it a large-scale example of a coin associated with Christianization. King Olaf became the first king of Norway to mint a coin with his own name, face, and religion.
This coin was found in what has been titled the Mørstad hoard. When first discovered in April of 2026, with over 3,000 coins it was thought the largest solver hoard in Norway. In the months that followed that number has doubled.
Olaf Haraldsson ruled Norway from 1015 to 1028. After his death, he was declared a Saint. and was proclaimed a Christian saint after his death in 1030.