Visby's commercial dominance in the Baltic during the twelfth century rested on its position as the primary entrepôt between Novgorod and western Europe, and these small silver penningar were the working currency of that trade. Gotland operated its own mint with unusual autonomy for an island community, answering neither consistently to the Swedish crown nor to any ecclesiastical authority during this period.
At 0.23 g, these pieces were among the lightest silver coins in circulation anywhere in northern Europe at the time — fractions of a fraction, used in bulk by weight as much as by count.
Visby's commercial dominance in the Baltic during the twelfth century rested on its position as the primary entrepôt between Novgorod and western Europe, and these small silver penningar were the working currency of that trade. Gotland operated its own mint with unusual autonomy for an island community, answering neither consistently to the Swedish crown nor to any ecclesiastical authority during this period.
At 0.23 g, these pieces were among the lightest silver coins in circulation anywhere in northern Europe at the time — fractions of a fraction, used in bulk by weight as much as by count.