Archaeologists have found an exceptional coin treasure in a swamp near the Danish city of Ribe. More than 250 coins found there were minted during the reign of King Goodfred (died 810), the first ruler of Denmark with reliable evidence of his existence in historical sources. The first coin on this site was found in early 2018 by an amateur archaeologist. He reported the find to the Southwest Jutland Museum. Scientists saw that the coin was very rare - it had a stylized face on one side and a deer and a snake on the other. Earlier, only eleven of these coins were found.
In the summer, museum staff began searching around the site where the first coin was found. In two days, they found 172 more coins with a face and a deer with a snake, as well as two coins of a different type, where on one side was a Viking ship, and on the other the same deer and snake. The coins were distributed over an oval-shaped section measuring approximately 50 meters by 15 meters. This distribution is typical for coin hoards that have been exposed to repeated plowing. Apparently, the coins were originally buried in a sack or other container, but it decayed from time to time, and the coins were distributed in the soil. In October, another stage of excavations took place, which brought 77 coins of the type "face-deer" and one coin of the type "ship-deer". Archaeologists note the excellent condition of the found coins.
The coins date back to the first half of the 9th century, when King Goodfred or his descendants ruled Denmark. Historical chronicles describe the wars that Goodfred waged with Charlemagne, and his son Horik I with Charles's son Louis the Pious. But very little is known about their monetary policy, so finding a large number of coins of this time is very important.