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Obol - Pepin the Short
| Issuer | Unified Carolingian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 751-768 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound (751-843) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by the bold monogram 'RP' (Rex Pippinus), rendered in large, raised letters in a robust Carolingian style characteristic of the period. The monogram is surrounded by three pellets distributed around the field, serving as decorative punctuation elements. The coin's flan is irregular and slightly ragged at the edges, typical of early Carolingian hammered silver coinage. No formal legend or border is present; the design relies entirely on the royal cipher for identification. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Pepin the Short's monetary reform of 755 — or thereabouts, the precise date remains debated — systematically reorganized Frankish coinage around a heavier silver denier standard, making the obol, its half, a theoretically tidy subdivision that saw comparatively little actual production. The near-total absence of reference numbers across Nouchy, Prou, and Gariel is not a cataloguing oversight; it reflects genuine rarity in the surviving record.
Pepin's reform also transferred minting authority progressively toward royal control, pulling it away from the ecclesiastical and aristocratic moneyers who had dominated under the Merovingians.