Two rare silver coins discovered by metal detectorists in Denmark reveal that the Vikings made jewelry out of Christian coins that were originally designed to prevent Viking raids, according to experts at the National Museum of Denmark.
The coins were minted around 1009, during the reign of English king Æthelred II, nicknamed "Æthelred the Unready," and featured religious motifs that he hoped would protect his people from the Viking scourge. But he didn't count on the Vikings' appreciation of the coins' aesthetics.
