Nomos 3

MEROVINGIANS. c. mid 7th century. Tremissis (Gold, 1.27 g 6), Uncertain mint. Brucumateo. BRVCVMATEO Bearded figure standing right, raising arm. Rev. Cross, with pellet at the end of each arm, atop a pedestal or fenced enclosure; above, lozenge in each quarter; below, R to left and inverted Δ to right. Apparently unpublished and unknown. A fascinating piece, apparently unique. .

From a Swiss private collection, ex Numismatica Genevensis V, 2 December 2008, 503.

In some ways the Merovingian monetary system is very hard to understand. For over a century large amounts of gold tremisses were produced by an enormous number of mints, all presumably coined with gold that had come in with taxes and then was transferred in an identifiable way. The die cutters ranged from artisans to blacksmiths, and often had highly idiosyncratic ideas about legibility. The maddening thing about these coins is that one can often read a part of the inscription, but it is usually the part that does not help us to know what it says! Even worse, as with this piece, we can read everything perfectly, yet its identification remains elusive. As a famous epigrapher used say, “it’s easy to read if you know what it says”, unfortunately, as with so many Merovingian issues, we simply do not.