Catalog
Obol - Pepin the Short Trier mint
| Issuer | Carolingian Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 751-768 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | A plain cross with dotted border divides the field into four quarters, each containing a letter of the royal monogram legend. The inscription D N P P is distributed one letter per quarter, serving as an abbreviated royal invocation referencing Pepin. The flan is irregular and slightly uneven, consistent with hand-hammered Carolingian coinage of the mid-eighth century. The lettering is rendered in an archaic Carolingian minuscule-influenced style with somewhat crude execution typical of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (751-768) |
| Additional information |
Pepin the Short's monetary reform of 755 AD fundamentally restructured Frankish coinage, reducing the number of authorized mints and centralizing production under royal control — a direct repudiation of the chaotic Merovingian system in which hundreds of semi-independent moneyers struck in their own names. Trier, with its deep roots as a Roman imperial mint, was among the retained workshops. The obol, as the half-denier, was struck in comparatively small quantities and consequently survives far less frequently than its full-denomination counterpart.