Catalog
Denier - Pepin the Short Chartres mint, RP
| Issuer | Unified Carolingian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 751-768 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Denier (1⁄240) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Full-length figure of Saint Cheron standing facing, arms extended to either side, each hand holding an upright cross. The saint is flanked on both sides by vertical rows of pellets arranged symmetrically in the field, creating a decorative frame around the central figural composition. A border of pellets runs along the coin's periphery. The design is characteristic of the Chartres mint's devotional iconographic tradition. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Pépin III seized the Frankish throne in 751 by deposing the last Merovingian king, Childeric III, with papal backing — a transaction that reshaped the political architecture of Western Europe and demanded immediate coinage reform to legitimize the new dynasty. The Chartres mint, operating under episcopal authority, was among the workshops tasked with producing deniers to that end. Pépin's monetary reforms, consolidating weight and silver content across Frankish minting centers, laid the direct groundwork for Charlemagne's better-documented overhaul of 793–794.
The RP mint signature on this piece — read as a retrograde or abbreviated workshop mark — is catalogued by Gariel but absent from Prou, a gap that reflects how inconsistently these early Carolingian provincial issues were documented in the nineteenth century.