Cool Finds

This Fisherman Was Digging for Worms in Sweden When He Stumbled Upon a Trove of Medieval Silver

Experts think that someone may have buried the copper cauldron full of coins and jewelry to keep it safe during a tumultuous period in the 12th century

Sonja Anderson | Daily Correspondent

October 17, 2025

Share

Copy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrint

Add as preferred source

When a fisherman recently went digging for worms near Stockholm, he stumbled upon something unexpected: Instead of bait, he found a hoard of medieval treasures. The 13-pound cache includes thousands of silver coins, beads, rings and pendants. Most of the artifacts date to the 12th century.

The digger reported his discovery to the Stockholm County Administrative Board, and archaeologists are now investigating the artifacts. According to a statement from the board, the coins were found inside a copper cauldron.

Some of the coins are embossed with the name and likeness of the Swedish king Knut Eriksson, who ruled between roughly 1173 and 1195. The 12th century was a tumultuous period for Sweden, which was then home to several competing kingdoms. Eriksson ruled over much of Sweden, but after his death the country eventually descended into civil war.

During these unstable years, many Swedes may have hidden their valuables, Lin Annerbäck, director of Stockholm’s Medieval Museum, tells the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter’s Annie Sääf. The fact that the recently discovered hoard contains a mixture of silver coins and other valuables could indicate that it was once someone’s hidden wealth.

The trove is the only medieval treasure of its kind to be discovered in the Stockholm area, Annerbäck tells Dagens Nyheter. Sofia Andersson, an antiquarian at the administrative board, says in the statement that she doesn’t know exactly how many coins are in the cache, but she thinks there could be as many as 20,000.

After spending centuries underground, the copper cauldron has sustained significant damage. Fortunately, however, most of the silver coins inside are still well-preserved, according to the statement. The thin, circular artifacts have unevenly cut edges and raised designs, and many are decorated with dotted borders.

Some of the Eriksson coins feature the word “KANUTUS,” which is Latin for “Knut.” Meanwhile, other coins in the hoard feature medieval bishops holding croziers, their characteristic hooked staffs. Another coin in the collection depicts a building that could be a church, per the researchers.

Last year, a large trove of Swedish coins from the Middle Ages was found on the island of Visingso in Sweden’s Lake Vattern. Still, discoveries of this kind are quite rare in the country. As archaeologist Anna Ödeen, who managed the Visingso excavation, told Artnet’s Vittoria Benzine in 2024, “There was a period during the early Middle Ages when Sweden (or what we call Sweden today) didn’t mint many coins.”

Archaeologists are now documenting and studying the Stockholm treasure. The exact location of the discovery has not yet been announced. Sweden’s National Heritage Board will now determine whether the finder will be compensated for turning over his discovery to the state.

Sonja Anderson | Read More

Sonja Anderson is a writer and reporter based in Chicago.