1 Penning Visby

Visby's commercial dominance in the Baltic during the thirteenth century was built on Hanseatic trade networks, and the town maintained its own coinage independent of the Swedish crown well into the medieval period. At 0.17 g, these penningar are among the smallest silver coins struck in Scandinavia — a practical denomination for small transactions in a port economy running on constant exchange. Many surviving examples are pierced or looped, suggesting secondary use as jewelry or dress ornaments rather than coin hoards.