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AodobertMerovingian inscribed denier
Monarch: unknown (?Audebert)
Moneyer: Frederic
Mint: unknown
O: AodoBERT
R: FREdIRI
Merovingian deniers present a number of difficulties in identification. Inscribed Merovingian deniers are quite rare, and are often illegible or nonsensical. This is certainly legible, but not quite clear. The name 'Aodobert' is not the name of a king, but could possibly be a moneyer or a religious figure. St. Aubert (Audbert) is the traditional founder of the bishopric of Cambray (Cambrai).
The reverse seems to depict "+FREdIRI". Unclear if this is a moneyer
Ex- Comptoir Général FinancierSt. George's Collection
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AugclioMerovingian inscribed denier
Monarch: unknown
Moneyer: unknown
Mint: unknown
O: +AVGCLIo (retrograde)
R: +PLINCIN (?)
Unknown in references. Not too much to say about this, but I have to say, it sure looks a lot like the inscribed Northumbrian silver sceats/stycas of the late 8th century. Presumably this predates the Northumbrian coins, and perhaps it is the inspiration for that series.
Ex- Comptoir Général FinancierSt. George's Collection
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Charibert IITremissis of Charibert II, king of Aquitaine 629-632
Mint: Banassac
Moneyer: Maximinus
Belfort 697
O: MAXIMIN VS M.
R: CHARIBERTVS REX
Merovingian inscribed tremissis of the short-reigned Charibert II, king of Aquitaine, part of the Merovingian kingdom. Merovingian France was made up of four large districts, which sometimes became kingdoms themselves: Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy, and Aquitaine. Merovingian royalty frequently divided the large and somewhat unwieldy kingdom between male heirs, and Charibert's half brother Dagobert I received the lion's share. Things went on for a few years, but Charibert probably got greedy, and not content with Aquitaine set his sights on Neustria. This led to conflict with his half-brother, and most likely led to his death by assassination.
Royal coinage inscribed in the names of Merovingian monarchs are very rare. The more common (if you can call them that) ones include coins made in Banassac for Charibert II and Sigebert III. Coins are also known depicting the names of Theodebert, Dagobert, Childebert, and others.
Charibert was not considered a very successful king, and probably only a teenager or young adult at the time of his death. On this coin, his name appears on the reverse, while the moneyer is on the obverse, a possible slight to the monarch. His coinage is a small glimpse of an otherwise highly obscured period in medieval history
Ex- CNG 100 (lot 457), Dr. Lawrence A. Adams, M. Louis TellerSt. George's Collection
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EbroinMerovingian denier of Ebroin, mayor of the palace of Neustria 658-673, 675-680/681
Moneyer: unknown
Mint: unknown, possibly Melle
O: Bust right
R: E BRO INO
This Merovingian coin is inscribed with the letters BRO/INO inside a large E, presumably naming Ebroin.
The named Ebroin is generally presumed to be Ebroin, the mayor of the palace of Neustria. The Mayor of the Palace was in charge of the king's household. Originally a significant and influential advisor to the king, the office of Mayor eventually grew in power and stature to become the de facto power behind the Merovingian throne, during the end of the dynasty. The late Merovingian kings were fairly ineffectual and power rested with the mayor. In the 650s, the mayor of Austrasia, Grimoald, attempted to take power for his family from the Roi fainéant, by having his (Grimoald's) son adopted by the Merovingian king Sigebert III, but there was backlash and Grimoald was overthrown and executed. The Merovingian dynasty was in its death throes, but it wasn't quite dead yet.
With this in mind, Ebroin never tried to take the throne for himself or his family. But he was certainly the power behind the throne. He exercised power through the weak kings Clotaire III and Theuderic III. Presuming that the attribution is correct, Ebroin was the first Mayor to place his name on coins. There are no coins of his successors though, apart from some coins dubiously attributed to Charles Martel. So the attribution will likely always have some doubt.
As far as I can tell, only two other coins were previously known of Ebroin, one depicted by Belfort (3460) in his famous publication on Merovingian coins, and the other from the Bais hoard. The Belfort coin has a moneyer's name on the obverse. The Bais example is similar to this example, with no moneyer. This coin is a third example. I am not sure if there are any others known. However, there are other coins that are similar to this one, without the name of Ebroin, but with a similar large E on the reverse.
Ex- Comptoir Général Financier (706994)St. George's Collection
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Merovingian denierMerovingian denier, unclear mint
Belfort 6400
Prou 2884
Roberts 365
Found in England, this denier has an obverse very similar to English secondary sceattas of series G.
The reverse legend with the letters "A IT B" has not been clearly deciphered (maybe A B TI in retrograde). It is thought to be related to coins of Quentovic which have the legend ABBATI. This suggests the coin may have had some ecclesiastical significance, possibly coined for an abbot in northern France.
Ex- eBay, EMC 2017.0053St. George's Collection
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