Reproduction Vikings at York St. Peter Coinage

Obverse: Sword right with cross pattee to right between text. Cross pattee above with annulet to left and right, inverted hammer dividing lower legend with annulet to left and right. Text above and below SCI PETR MO (Sancti Petri Moneta - the money of St. Peter).

Reverse: Cross pattee with pellet in each angle. Text around EBORACEI (York), Cross pattee to begin with annulets between letters.

History: The Vikings of York (Jorvik) issued their own distinctive coins and were not associated with any particular ruler. The coins were struck in the city of York in the Viking kingdom of Northumbria.

The coins are Christian in character, with the obverse commemorating St Peter, the patron of York's cathedral. It also celebrates the traditional Norse gods with the hammer which is often taken to be Thor’s hammer, thus mixing the iconography of the Christian and Norse religions. This type of coin is known as St. Peter Coinage.

Date: Sword / Cross Type Penny, York mint, Circa 921-927

Diameter: 2.0cm