Holløse

The rich treasure hoard from Ramløse also suggests that, even in Viking times, North Zealand could justifiably be called Denmark’s Stockbroker Belt. In 2015, and using a metal detector, an amateur archaeologist found an exceptional coin hoard in a field near Holløse, about 16 km southwest of Gilleleje. These 42 coins symbolise the founding of the standard Danish coinage system. The treasure was buried in a field in the 1060s, which was quite a confused time where paying for things was concerned. Up to this point, the value of coins was based on their silver content. This was checked by either bending or biting into the coin, as real silver is soft. But in this period we see a change to coins literally being taken at their face value. Only a national king could decree such a significant change and the Danish monarch at this time was Svend Estridsen (> 62). It’s obvious from simply looking at the Holløse coins that full confidence in the new coinage hasn’t quite kicked in. Several pieces are bent and nicked to check their quality. The older hoards contain a clear predominance of foreign coins, but 40 of the Holløse coins are Danish and 22 were minted in Roskilde, the most important and geographically closest mint to the hoard site. 15 of the coins were from Lund, part of Denmark at the time – seven of them were so-called runic coins, which were only minted in a very short period. Last but not least, the hoard contains two unique coins from Aarhus, which only had a mint for a very short time – one was minted in the reign of the Magnus the Good 1042-47, and on the back is the word "Arosie", which is one of earliest records of Aarhus being officially named. The hoard can be viewed at the National Museum’s found treasure trove exhibition.