Denier - Pepin the Short Condé-sur-l'Escaut mint

Pépin le Bref struck these deniers following his deposition of Childeric III in 751 — the first Carolingian king, legitimized by papal sanction, now requiring a coinage to match. The Condé-sur-l'Escaut mint, situated on the Scheldt in what is now the Franco-Belgian borderland, was among the more active Frankish minting centers of the period, its location reflecting the commercial importance of the river corridor. Pépin's monetary reforms during this reign prefigured the more celebrated overhaul under Charlemagne, pushing silver content upward and asserting royal authority over production that had previously been fragmented among ecclesiastical and local mints.