Penny, England, Ethelred II, circa 997–1003
More than 40,000 Viking-Age English coins have been found in Sweden. The vast majority are dated between 990 and 1040. They’re often associated with the ransoms paid in England to buy freedom from Norse attacks. That said, many English coins probably ended up in Scandinavia through trade as well.
The most common English coins found in Scandinavia are known as Crux and Long Cross coins, because they have pictures of crosses on them. They were also the main prototypes for the first Swedish coins.
