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<p>[QUOTE="Gam3rBlake, post: 7683743, member: 115909"]A brief recap for those who have no idea what I’m talking about:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In 1957 an amateur archeologist named Guy Mellgren purportedly discovered a silver coin at the “Goddard Site”, a prehistoric archeological site notable for the large number of stone artifacts found.</p><p><br /></p><p>At first the coin was misidentified as a British penny (Before 1797, British pennies were made of silver).</p><p><br /></p><p>Today there is no doubt it is a silver coin of King Olaf III of Norway.</p><p><br /></p><p>The issue is that King Olaf III lived in the 11th century and even the Vikings such as Leif Erickson “only” made it to Canada but did not make it as far south as Maine.</p><p><br /></p><p>This artifact suggests that it’s possible that 11th century Norwegian explorers made it all the way to the continental United States long before Columbus was even born. It has been suggested as evidence of Pre-Columbian post-atlantic contact.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now there are a few theories about the Maine Penny.</p><p><br /></p><p>The 1st: The coin was planted by the man who found it.</p><p><br /></p><p>The 2nd: The coin was brought to Maine by Europeans post-15th century and then later lost.</p><p><br /></p><p>The 3rd: Norwegian explorers actually made it to Maine and made contact with Native Americans and the coin was given to them long before historians believe Native Americans were contacted by Europeans.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Maine State Museum describes it as "the only pre-Columbian Norse artifact generally regarded as genuine found within the United States".</p><p><br /></p><p>Although the Museum states "the most likely explanation for the coin's presence is that it was obtained by natives somewhere else, perhaps in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/Newfoundland_(island)" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/Newfoundland_(island)" rel="nofollow">Newfoundland</a> where the only known New World Norse settlement has been found at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/L%E2%80%99Anse_aux_Meadows" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/L%E2%80%99Anse_aux_Meadows" rel="nofollow">L’Anse aux Meadows</a>, and that it eventually reached the Goddard site through native trade channels".</p><p><br /></p><p>Note: Food remains at L’Anse aux Meadows included <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/Juglans_cinerea" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/Juglans_cinerea" rel="nofollow">butternuts</a>, which are significant because they do not grow naturally north of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/New_Brunswick" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/New_Brunswick" rel="nofollow">New Brunswick</a>. Their presence probably indicates the Norse inhabitants traveled farther south to obtain them.</p><p><br /></p><p>Your thoughts?</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1319499[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Gam3rBlake, post: 7683743, member: 115909"]A brief recap for those who have no idea what I’m talking about: In 1957 an amateur archeologist named Guy Mellgren purportedly discovered a silver coin at the “Goddard Site”, a prehistoric archeological site notable for the large number of stone artifacts found. At first the coin was misidentified as a British penny (Before 1797, British pennies were made of silver). Today there is no doubt it is a silver coin of King Olaf III of Norway. The issue is that King Olaf III lived in the 11th century and even the Vikings such as Leif Erickson “only” made it to Canada but did not make it as far south as Maine. This artifact suggests that it’s possible that 11th century Norwegian explorers made it all the way to the continental United States long before Columbus was even born. It has been suggested as evidence of Pre-Columbian post-atlantic contact. Now there are a few theories about the Maine Penny. The 1st: The coin was planted by the man who found it. The 2nd: The coin was brought to Maine by Europeans post-15th century and then later lost. The 3rd: Norwegian explorers actually made it to Maine and made contact with Native Americans and the coin was given to them long before historians believe Native Americans were contacted by Europeans. The Maine State Museum describes it as "the only pre-Columbian Norse artifact generally regarded as genuine found within the United States". Although the Museum states "the most likely explanation for the coin's presence is that it was obtained by natives somewhere else, perhaps in [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/Newfoundland_(island)']Newfoundland[/URL] where the only known New World Norse settlement has been found at [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/L%E2%80%99Anse_aux_Meadows']L’Anse aux Meadows[/URL], and that it eventually reached the Goddard site through native trade channels". Note: Food remains at L’Anse aux Meadows included [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/Juglans_cinerea']butternuts[/URL], which are significant because they do not grow naturally north of [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/New_Brunswick']New Brunswick[/URL]. Their presence probably indicates the Norse inhabitants traveled farther south to obtain them. Your thoughts? [ATTACH=full]1319499[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
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