Around a millennium ago, an extraordinary gold coin bearing Jesus Christ’s image astonishingly traveled from the Byzantine Empire to Norway. Recently unearthed by a metal detectorist in Vestre Slidre, a region in Norway’s Innlandet County famous for its ski slopes, this coin was hidden for ages.
Innlandet County Municipality shared their excitement in a statement, saying, “We receive many great finds from detectorists, but now a particularly special find has come in. We are talking about a very rare Byzantine histamenon nomisma.”
The “histamenon nomisma” is a Byzantine gold coin first minted around 960 C.E. It features Jesus Christ holding the Bible on one side and the Byzantine rulers Basil II and Constantine VIII, two brothers who governed near the 9th century’s end, on the other.
This coin is also notable for its inscriptions. In Latin, it reads: “Jesus Christ, King of those who reign,” while the Greek inscription says: “Basil and Constantine, emperors of the Romans.”
The county’s statement highlighted the coin’s remarkable preservation, noting, “It has held up exceptionally well. The coin appears largely unchanged from when it was lost, perhaps a thousand years ago.”
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, likely produced the histamenon nomisma between 977 C.E. and 1025 C.E., probably in Constantinople (now Istanbul). But the mystery remains: how did this coin travel from there to Norway?
One theory involves Harald Hardrada, who reigned as a Norwegian king from 1045 to 1066. Before his kingship, Hardrada was a bodyguard for three Byzantine emperors. The statement points out that such guards often looted the palace after an emperor’s death, and Hardrada witnessed the demise of three emperors. It’s conceivable he acquired the coin during one of these chaotic events.
The coin might have been part of a dowry Hardrada sent to Prince Yaroslav in Kyiv to marry a royal daughter.
Alternatively, the coin’s journey to Norway might have a different origin. Perhaps a clergyman in Vestre Slidre lost it, or it was involved in trade, exchanging commodities like “salt and herring from the west, and iron ingots, reindeer skins and antlers from the east.”
The discovery of the histamenon nomisma has left researchers with numerous unanswered questions and a keen interest in uncovering more information. However, since the coin was found in late autumn, archaeologists plan to revisit the site only in 2024, hoping to find additional historical treasures.
Meanwhile, this coin is among the many remarkable discoveries by metal detectorists in Norway this year. In another instance, a Norwegian, who took up metal detecting for exercise, made the “gold find of the century.” He unearthed a stunning collection of nine gold pendants, three gold rings, and 10 gold pearls, components of a 1,500-year-old necklace.
These finds underscore how metal detecting, combined with a bit of fortune, can lead to uncovering hidden historical gems.
