In 2014, a coin hoard was found in Wirdum. This hoard from the Dutch province of Fryslân consists of 96 coins and - remarkably - also a remnant of a linen pouch. Linen often does not survive the ravages of time in the acidic clay soil and is therefore a very rare find! Examination of the pouch showed that it contained impressions of coins and a leather cord. The hoard was probably deposited between 850 and 860.
However, the contents of the pouch also make the hoard unique. The 96 coins consist of denarii minted under three different Carolingian rulers, namely: 11 under Louis the Pious (814-840), 83 under Lothar I (840-855) and 2 under Charles the Bald (840-877). Unique to this find, however, is that it contained a previously unknown coin type: temple-type denarii of Lothar I from Aachen. The discovery of these coins reflects that the imperial palace at Aachen served as a mint in the Middle Kingdom of Lothar I, something previously unknown. Other coin types that make up the Wirdum hoard include ‘christiana religio’-types, ‘temple’-types of other emperors and ‘mint-in-field’-types from Dorestad.
The contents of the hoard do not show any Scandinavian characteristics, but can be placed in the context of the Viking Age nonetheless. Indeed, it is assumed that the hoard was put in the ground to prevent it from being looted by Vikings. The period around 840 AD shows both a spike in recorded Viking attacks, and in the number of buried treasures. The Wirdum hoard was probably one of these. The hoard was on display as a loan at the Fries Museum's We Vikings exhibition in 2019.
Our reconstruction of the Wirdum hoard is made as it might have once looked when it was deposited. In doing so, we decided to make a linen pouch in its complete state. The reconstruction of this pouch is hypothetical, as only part of the original find was preserved.
Sources and further reading:
- S. Coupland, ‘A Carolingian coin hoard from Wirdum (Friesland, the Netherlands) and the Dorestad mint’ in: A. Willemsen en H. Kik, Dorestad and its networks (2021) 119-135.
- N. IJssennagger, S. Coupland en C. Peek, ‘De Karolingische muntschat van Wirdum’, De Vrije Fries 99 (2019) 178-180.
- https://www.friesmuseum.nl/.../2019/muntschat-gevonden
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