Penning, Stockholm, uncertain authority, 1475–1499
The penning was the lowest coin denomination in late medieval Sweden, as can be seen from the simple coinage. This coin was minted during the rule of Sten Sture the Elder in the late 15th century. It features a portrait of King Erik the Saint, which is common on the coins of Sten Sture the Elder. It has no inscription.
Using the likeness of Erik the Saint may have been a way to emphasise a Swedish national identity at a time when Sweden was in political union with Denmark and Norway as part of the Kalmar Union. The Danish and Norwegian peoples also had their national sacred heroes in kings of old.
This coin was found in 1934 during an archaeological survey of the ruins of St Ursula’s Chapel in Västerås.
)Object number: 103276_KMK
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