Overview
- The discovery, which began April 10 with 19 coins found by hobby detectorists Rune Sætre and Vegard Sørlie near Rena, triggered a professional excavation.
- Counts have climbed as digging continues, with Innlandet County reporting more than 3,150 coins and a later review placing the total near 3,250.
- The silver pieces span the late 900s to the 1040s and include issues of Æthelred II, Cnut, Otto III, and some Harald Hardrada coins that point to a deposit around 1050.
- Specialists at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo are cataloguing the trove after moving the coins and associated hacksilver from the site.
- Researchers are testing whether the stash reflects wealth from Østerdalen’s bog-iron industry, which mined ore and exported iron across Europe for centuries.