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Denier - Odo Saint-Quentin mint
| Issuer | West Francia, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 887-898 |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A plain cross with equal arms occupies the centre of the field, contained within a beaded inner circle. The cross divides the central area into four quadrants and is rendered with bold, slightly uneven strokes characteristic of hammered medieval coinage. Surrounding the beaded circle, a Latin legend reads ✠ SC-I qVINTNI MO, identifying the mint of Saint-Quentin. The lettering is of the Carolingian minuscule type, with some letters partially effaced due to die wear and irregular striking. |
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| Additional information |
Odo — Count of Paris, elected king by the western Frankish nobility in 888 after Charles the Fat's deposition — issued this coinage during a reign defined almost entirely by Viking siege warfare. The Saint-Quentin mint sat in the Vermandois, a region under near-constant pressure from Scandinavian raiding parties moving up the Somme and Escaut river corridors throughout the 890s. That a mint operated there at all during this decade is itself notable.
Prou's catalog places this type among the rarer Carolingian-formula deniers struck under non-Carolingian authority — Odo's legitimacy was contested, and his coinage borrowing the established Carolingian weight and silver standard was a deliberate political calculation rather than administrative inertia.