Maine penny

The Maine penny is a Norwegian silver penny that dates to the reign of Olaf Kyrre. It was found in 1957 in an old Native American settlement at the Goddard site, a large archeological site at Naskeag Point, Brooklin, Maine on the Penobscot Bay. The coin is one of the few pre-Columbian Norse artifacts found in the United States that is generally, but not universally, regarded as genuine. More artifacts have been found in Canada, in particular at the site of L'Anse aux Meadows.

After excavation, the collection of 30,000 items from the site was donated to the Maine State Museum. The coin was initially thought to be a British penny of the 12th century. In 1978, experts from London became suspicious that it was Norse. Dr. Kolbjorn Skaare, the relevant expert, was brought over to inspect it. He determined that it was minted between 1065 and 1080 AD, more than 50 years after the last of the Vinland voyages as described by the Norse saga accounts. This indicates that a later contact between the Norse and North America took place. The Goddard site is dated to 1180-1235, and the people living there at this time are generally considered to be ancestral to the Penobscot.

Dr. Skaare posed the question of whether it was falsely added to the site. The determination is that it was probably not a false find, as it was a fairly rare coin, and more common coins of Leif Ericson's era would have been readily available and less expensive to plant in the site. That the coin sat at the museum for 21 years before it was identified argues against any fraudulent involvement by the finders.

In some accounts it is described that when the penny was found it had a perforation that might indicate it was used as a pendant. Later, this portion of the coin is said to have crumbled to dust due to the effects of corrosion.

Since it was found at a coastal site, the penny could be explained as evidence that Vikings did indeed travel further south and that the coin might have been lost or traded locally. Most researchers believe differently, however. The penny was the only Norse artifact found at the Goddard site. There is evidence that this site was a hub in a large native trade network. For instance, an artifact identified as most likely a Dorset Eskimo burin was also recovered from the same site. The penny probably arrived in Maine through native trade channels from Labrador or Newfoundland. The coin may originally have been traded there with the Vikings, or alternatively stolen or discovered at a Viking settlement.

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References

Rolde, Neil (1990). Maine: A Narrative History. Harpswell Press. pp. 3–7. ISBN 0-88448-069-0.

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