Odo, Count of Paris, became king of West Francia not by hereditary right but by election — chosen by the Frankish nobility in 888 after Charles the Fat proved incapable of defending the realm against the Vikings. His right to strike coin was consequently contested from the start, and his reign was spent in almost continuous conflict with Carolingian legitimists backing the rival claim of Charles the Simple. The Tours mint, one of the most productive in the former Carolingian heartland, continued striking under his authority throughout this unstable decade.
The volume of references cross-indexing this type — Prou, Gariel, Morrison, MEC — reflects how extensively this series has been studied relative to surviving specimens.
Odo, Count of Paris, became king of West Francia not by hereditary right but by election — chosen by the Frankish nobility in 888 after Charles the Fat proved incapable of defending the realm against the Vikings. His right to strike coin was consequently contested from the start, and his reign was spent in almost continuous conflict with Carolingian legitimists backing the rival claim of Charles the Simple. The Tours mint, one of the most productive in the former Carolingian heartland, continued striking under his authority throughout this unstable decade.
The volume of references cross-indexing this type — Prou, Gariel, Morrison, MEC — reflects how extensively this series has been studied relative to surviving specimens.