THE NORFOLK URNES A 11TH CENTURY BRONZE VIKING DIE DISCOVERED IN A FIELD BY METAL DETECTORISTS

A hugely important die which was discovered in a field in Norfolk by a metal detectorist using his backup detector will be offered at Noonans Mayfair on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 in a sale of Ancient Coins and Antiquities with a guide price of £16,000-24,000.

Jason Jones aged 44, who works in the construction industry bought a metal detector for his son Rio’s 15th birthday four years ago and within a few weeks the whole family including his two daughters Ela and Lia were detecting every weekend. 

As Jason explained: “On January 29th of this year, my wife Lisa and I were searching on a field in Norfolk which had produced two Medieval silver coins on a previous visit. I had forgotten to charge my main detector, so had to use my backup machine, an older Minelab Vanquish 540. I returned to the area where the coins were found and got a loud signal, and at a depth of just 2 inches found an unusual bronze object, Lisa came over and was speechless when she saw it. Neither of us had any idea what it could be, but that evening after posting a picture on Facebook we realised it was Viking in date and notified the local Archaeologist to have it recorded.”

Nigel Mills, Specialist (Coins and Artefacts) at Noonans explained: “The object is a die of Pressblech type which is 14 centimetres in length and tapers from 3.2 -2.6 centimetres in width and weighs 186 grams with the design on one side in high relief. This is an intricate 11th century Urnes style ornamentation possibly representing the world tree Yggdrasil with the monstrous serpent Nidhogg intertwining within its roots, At the bottom is a fleur-de-lis which appears to form the tail of the serpent.”

He continued: “The die would have been used to make a stamped foil of thin metal which would display the pressed-out image. From its find spot, the date and design it is possible that the die was used on a Viking iron helmet to make ornamentation to the cheek guards.”

It was in 1066 at Stamford Bridge in York that Harold II defeated the Viking invasion of King Hadrada of Norway before being defeated by William of Normandy just three weeks later.

Jason will share the money with the landowner and plans to use the money to support his family.