Written by What we call money today is more of a promise of money. It is an IOU of sorts. On the United States, every bill reads ‘In God We Trust” and every coin is minted on a very low value base metal. Even pennies are only copper clad. Vikings knew silver was silver and gold was gold no matter the god it was dedicated to or the Church that minted it. Evidence of that can be found in the Arabic coins that circulated in the Viking economy.
Although a system of IOUs called tally sticks did exist during the Viking Age, gold and silver were king in trade. A tally stick could be used as a promise of money. Gold and silver were money. Another discovery of medieval Arabic coins in Poland further illustrates this point.
Six Arab dirhams and two fragments have been found in Poland close to what was once a Viking trading village Truso. In addition to earlier and later discoveries, it has become clear Viking trade with distant lands was expansive.