When bidding on an auction that charges an arm and a leg for shipping (i.e. most auction houses), if I win an individual coin, I will often flip to the bulk lots section and throw out a bunch of lowball bids for stuff I think I could maybe use to offset the individual purchase. In this case, it was a medium sized lot of "problem" medieval silver coins - worn, chipped, holed coins ranging from the early Abbasid caliphate to the early 17th century Europe. I immediately recognized this one when it clinked out of the bag Carolingian Empire Charles III "le Simple", 898-922 AR Denier 21mm, 0.92g Metalo (Melle) mint Obv: + CARLVS REX R around cross Rev: MET / ALo From what I can tell, I don't see any reason to doubt the authenticity of this coin, as I trust the seller (Nomos). Thoughts are very much appreciated however - Medieval Europe is still very much new territory for me! Any other examples out there, let's see them!
Congrats on your first Carolingian! Though several users (e.g. @Orielensis, @AnYangMan, @seth77) know way more about Medieval than I do, I believe it's an immobilized type (i.e. minted posthumously), minted up until the 10th-11th century. Similar coins (with the "o" of MET/ALO in subscript): And, also, my own Carolingians: CAROLINGIAN, Lotharius. Denomination: AR Denier, minted: Bourges, France; 954-986 (or until ~1050) Obv: +BITVRICES CIVITAS Tetrastyle temple, with cross on top. Inside, small cross. Rev: + LOTERIVS REX, cross within dotted border, outside, dotted border Weight: 1.19g; Ø:19mm. Catalogue: TTB. Nou.7-Prou.755. Provenance: Found near Amiens, France; acq.: 01-2020 Minted on a relatively small flan, small portion with weak strike CAROLINGIAN, Charles le Simple. Denomination: AR Obole (immobilized), minted: Melle, France; 898-922 (or ~ 1100) Obv: + CΛROLV(retrograde S) RE+ R, cross pattée Rev: MET/ΛLO in two lines Weight: 0.65g; Ø:16mm. Catalogue: Depeyrot 629 var. (obv. legend); M&G –; MEC –; Fécamp 8381-7. Provenance: Found near Amiens, France; acq.: 01-2020 Some green deposits, struck on good metal, nicely toned with original luster remaining CAROLINGIAN, Charles II le Chauve. Denomination: AR Denier, minted: Le Mans, France; 834-877 Obv: + GRATIA D-I REX, monogram Rev: + CINOMANIS CIVITAS, cross in the middle Weight: 1.69g; Ø:19mm. Catalogue: Nou.146c-Dep.559-Prou.420. Provenance: Found near Amiens, France; acq.: 01-2020 Beautiful example, wonderful and pleasant toning.
This coin is a good example of conventions getting in the way of clarity. It's an immobilise naming a Carolingian ruler minted well into the feudal age as local currency. So which is it -- Carolingian or feudal (local/provincial)? It's likely both.
Very interesting coins. At some point I need to branch out into Medieval (outside of Byzantine that is).
Thanks all! Very cool coins, @Roerbakmix Interesting that this is one of the types that got frozen in time. Frozen types are certainly nothing new to my collection - you've got Alexander coinage, barbarous Tetricus radiates, medieval silk road imitations of ancient Greek coins, Peroz, Hormizd IV, and Khusro II imitations, Kai Yuan, Kanei Tsuho, and heck even the US 1964 coinage was frozen in place until '66 to mask the true extent of the coin shortage! Something about repeating history?
