Nummus at christogram - Theudebert I Marseille mint

Theudebert I was the first Frankish king to strike coins in his own name rather than in the name of the Byzantine emperor — a deliberate break from the convention his predecessors had maintained. This piece from the Marseille mint dates to the period following the Frankish annexation of Provence in 536, when Theudebert gained control of the Mediterranean port and its established mint infrastructure. The Justinian I who nominally still claimed suzerainty over these territories reportedly protested the presumption bitterly.

Marseille's access to eastern trade networks meant bronze continued circulating here long after it fell out of use in more interior Frankish territories.