Here you can learn more about church finds. C oin finds from Norwegian churches represent our most important source of knowledge about medieval coins and their use. Certain features are characteristic of the church finds. Coins from the 1000s are rarely seen, the 1100s are better represented, but most coins were minted between 1200 and 1300.
Church finds represent a different phenomenon to coin hoards.
The coins under the church floors have landed there one by one through centuries. They are of great importance as they can indicate which coins were in use among common people through the years. We can't say for certain, but evidence suggests that most of the coins were simply lost. The cracks between the rough floorboards were more than sufficiently wide for the coins to roll into before dropping through the floor. Coins may have been intentionally offered at times, but there is little reason to believe that this was a regular tradition in the Middle Ages.