Imagine wandering around with your friends at a church and stumbling upon a set of 800-year-old coins.
That is exactly the situation Jan Gunnar Fugelsnes found himself in when, in 1964, he and his friends found a set of coins in the floorboards on the Edøy Church in Norway, Fox News reported.
It was only in 2023 that Fugelsnes realized what he had in his possession. He not only found 14 coins, but also 3 fittings, 9 needles, and a pearl. County archaeologist for Møre og Romsdal, Carl-Fredrik Wahr-Hansen Vemmestad, said some of these artifacts date as far back as the 13th century.
Vemmestad noted only a handful of such coins still exist today.
“The discovery site and the composition of coins and objects suggest that they may originate from a burial mound that was placed under the church floor in the Middle Ages, between approximately 1200-1300,” Vemmestad said, adding that the needles may have been in the clothing of a corpse and that the pearl may have been part of a prayer wreath.
Despite discovering the artifacts when just a child, Fugelsnes had stored them in a box and only pulled them out last year.
“We were just children on a treasure hunt under the church. We didn’t realize how rare the coins were,” he recalled.
Norwegian man Jan Gunnar Fugelsnes reveals ancient coins he found under a church 60 years agohttps://t.co/9bf1jYYWVd
— European Press (@european_presss) March 15, 2024
Do you still have something from a childhood treasure hunt?
However, once he realized the importance of his “treasure,” in accordance with Norwegian law, Fugelsnes turned the coins over to the government to preserve. As Fox reported, “In Norway, any coins that were produced before 1650 are considered government property — unless they were privately owned before 1905.”
The coins will hopefully serve as a welcome addition to any other collection Norway currently has from its history. With that in mind, Norwegians and anyone with reverence for the past should hope to see the coins taken care of.
While many would consider the 13th century to be the very distant past, which we share nothing with today, these coins are a reminder that the past is not so distant after all. Additionally, they may serve as a link to give us a better appreciation for it.
Such stories should provoke envy in the United States. Presuming that these artifacts will be on display and handled with great care, Fugelsnes’ discovery seems to be a far cry from how we handle our own history.
Consider the case of Boston removing a statue of Abraham Lincoln in 2020.
The statue in question was of Lincoln and a black man on his knees, with Lincoln clutching a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. Some saw the depiction not of the man rising up, but of a man being subjugated to Lincoln, being seen as someone lesser.
The controversial Emancipation Group statue in Boston has been taken down. In June, an online petition called for the statue’s removal and in July, the Boston Art Commission voted unanimously to take it down. |
Read the full story –> https://t.co/CboKT9WdzN pic.twitter.com/8W6yn2Uh4f— Boston 25 News (@boston25) December 29, 2020
While not an artifact, our 16th president is enshrined in history as the head of state during the Civil War and the man responsible for the abolition of slavery.
The past is filled with many detestable moments, but there is much worth remembering and celebrating. For the left, however, the past seems to be one-dimensionally terrible and irredeemable.
If Lincoln can be thrown out with yesterday’s garbage, then who exactly can we place on a pedestal?
Fugelsnes’ story is a feel-good tale from a man’s childhood. A neat discovery turned into an incredible find for Norway’s history.
Yet, it can also serve as an example should Norway handle the coins correctly.
The past is not always to be thrown away and forgotten. Sometimes, great figures and great finds can be celebrated.
