1 Penning - Sverre Sigurdsson

Sverre Sigurdsson seized the Norwegian throne through civil war, defeating and killing King Magnus Erlingsson at the Battle of Fimreite in 1184. His coinage was struck throughout a reign defined by near-constant armed conflict with the Church and rival factions — the Baglers, backed by Pope Innocent III, excommunicated Sverre in 1194 and fought to dislodge him until his death. Skaare 116 belongs to a bracteate-influenced penny tradition that was already technically primitive by contemporary European standards, struck on thin flans with considerable die variation across known specimens.