Skänninge hoard, Skänninge parish, Östergötland, deposited circa 1190
Not long after the death of King Knut Eriksson in 1196, a 20-year-old man was buried in Skänninge, Östergötland. The man in the grave may have been a wealthy person from the neighbouring grand manor. Maybe a money changer.
Between the man's legs, 130 bracteates had been laid down. 112 of these had been minted for King Knut Eriksson in Östra Aros or Sigtuna between 1167 and 1196. The remaining 18 coins had been minted in Östra Aros or Sigtuna for the Archbishop of Uppsala between 1190 and 1200.
At this time, there were three economic areas with different coinage in Sweden. In Östergötland, Gotland money was used. 1½ penning from Gotland = 1 penning from Svealand = 2 penningar from Västra Götaland.
A total of 130 Svealand whole and halved silver coins issued during Knut's time and 96 Gotland coins were found in the grave. The grave was discovered during an archaeological investigation in 2009.
