Catalog
Obole - Arnould II
| Issuer | Abbey of Saint-Bertin |
|---|---|
| Year | 965-987 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | PA#– |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A plain cross pattée occupying the central field, with the letters C, R, V, and X distributed in the four quarters formed by the arms of the cross, reading CRVX. The surrounding circular legend reads CRVX RALVD, referencing both the cross motif and the abbatial authority. The lettering is irregularly spaced and partially blundered, a common characteristic of tenth-century hammered billon issues struck at monastic mints. The flan is irregular and the strike weak in places, resulting in partial legend visibility. The design echoes broadly the Carolingian cross-and-legend reverse formula. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | CRVX RALVD |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Saint-Bertin, founded in the seventh century near Saint-Omer, was among the most powerful Benedictine houses in the southern Low Countries, and by the mid-tenth century its abbots exercised temporal authority substantial enough to support independent coin production. Arnould II's abbacy fell within the broader fragmentation of Carolingian monetary order, when ecclesiastical minting rights — whether formally granted or simply assumed — proliferated across northern France and Flanders.
The PA reference remains unassigned, which is not unusual for minor billon oboles of this house; surviving examples are sparse enough that die linkage studies are effectively impossible at current census levels.