The contents of Westerklief 2 is completely different than Westerklief 1. There are no complete ornaments, and no whole silver bars. These are indications that the second treasure dates to a later time period than the first.

The Vikings did not have their own coinage. In trade, silver was used as payment. It didn't matter to the Vikings whether the silver came in bars, coins, or ornaments. To obtain the required amount of silver, they thought nothing of breaking off pieces of jewelry, or cutting coins. Because there is so much cut silver in this treasure, we know the contents had been frequently used in trade (see also the Arabian coin pieces). "Change" was frequently needed, so the silver objects were gradually broken or cut into smaller and smaller pieces.

Almost all of the pieces of "hack" silver come from silver bars, such as those from the first treasure. The two hooks in the above picture (on the left) are the clasps from the end of a choker like the one in the first treasure.
 
 

Last updated: 19-3-2002