Treasure of the British Museum: Lead Weight

Lead Weight with coin of Ethelred I  Viking, 9th century AD  From Wareham, Dorset, England   A weight for trading in Viking England that was used to weigh out silver, both for trade and probably also for the division of plunder. Payments in silver could take the form of coins, but ingots and so-called hacksilver were also common. Many of the weights had coins, or small pieces of jewellery inserted into the top. Several coins are known with Anglo-Saxon coins inserted, such as this one of Ethelred I, king of Wessex
(reigned AD 865-71).   © Trustees of the British Museum