Rings

These three gold rings are part of a hoard of four found at Stenness in Orkney, buried in the 10th or 11th centuries. Although originally used as ornaments, they are nicked and battered, suggesting that they had also circulated as Viking bullion.

Two of the rings are simple flat penannular bands. The third is made from three rods twisted together, a popular form throughout Viking Age Scandinavia for finger, arm and neckrings. The rings weigh 8.94, 13.36 and 8.75 grams.

In the Viking world, gold and especially silver were used as a medium of exchange, weighed on balances. Any type of object, complete or fragmentary, was valid tender. Much of the gold and silver was nicked, as here, or bent to test its purity.

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