Merovingia Francia, Melle -

Merovingia Francia, Melle, Denier, Metalus, rev. Monogram, 1.29g, 0° (SCBI 69, 1101 this coin; Belfort 2887; Loveluck et al, 2018, pp. 1-15), rare, marking the transition from gold to silver coinage.

Images and selected text reproduced by kind permission of Spink and Son Ltd, London, auction 21000, The Tony Abramson Collection of Dark Age Coinage - Part I, March 18th 2021, lot #334.  Provenance: M Vosper, January 2016 ~ Found near Ashford (Kent).

This denier of Melle, famed for its argentiferous deposits, is illustrated in the recent archaeological study of Loveluck et al (2018) as confirming the transformation of the European monetary system from gold to silver in the 660s as evidenced by Alpine ice-core analysis.