Fewer than 20 coins minted under Norwegian King Olaf II Haraldsson have ever been found. “We can almost imagine Olaf himself holding this coin in his hand,” one researcher says

October 23, 2026 8:00 a.m.

The coin offers a rare glimpse into Olaf's life and royal power. Lill-Ann Chepstow-Lusty, Museum of Cultural History

In April, metal detectorists stumbled upon a massive cache of 1,000-year-old silver coins in eastern Norway. At the time, archaeologists were impressed by the sheer size of the find, known as the Mørstad hoard, which totals thousands of coins and counting. They hailed it as the largest Viking Age coin stash ever found in Norway.

Now, researchers are even more excited about the cache.…