France (887-898)-Blois denier
This specimen was lot 2020 in Goldberg Sale 139 (Los Angeles, June 2024), where it sold for $504. The catalog description[1] noted, "France. Carolingian. Odo (887-898). Silver Denier. Blois mint. Cross pattee. Rev. Odo Rex monogram. Sharply struck example with attractive old tone. Only 2 examples graded by PCGS. Finest at PCGS. In PCGS holder graded MS 62. PCGS Certification Number 45680612 Ex The Century Collection." This denier has the royal monogram on the obverse and "MISERICORDIA" on the reverse. It was struck at Blois (shown here), the king's palace mint, Courcessin, Tours, Chateaudun, Compiègne, Laon and Orleans. Numerous other styles exist with Odo's name (Roberts-1641 thru -1698). The silver denier was still a useful coin in Carolingian times but shrank over the centuries. When trade revived in the thirteenth century, the gros tournois, worth twelve deniers, was introduced to accommodate commercial demands for a larger coin.
Wikipedia comments, "Odo (French: Eudes; c. 857 – 1 January 898) was the elected King of West Francia from 888 to 898. He was the first king from the Robertian dynasty, the parent house of the House of Capet. Before assuming the kingship, Odo was the count of Paris. His reign marked the definitive separation of West Francia from the Carolingian Empire, which would never be reunited."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Roberts-1651, Dep 163; MG 1311.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
- [1]Goldberg, Ira, Stephen Harvey and Vera Kan, Goldberg Sale 139: the Pre-Long Beach Auction, featuring the Peh Family Collection, Part II, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2024.
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