A Merovingian gold coin, approximately 1,300 years old, was discovered in the Altmark region near Belkau, Germany. The coin, identified as a Tremissis based on its style, was found and has now been digitized and evaluated as part of a scientific project, according to Die Zeit.
Anika Tauschensky, a numismatist at the State Office for Heritage Preservation and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, told the German Press Agency: "It is the second one found in Saxony-Anhalt, and the fourth Merovingian coin in the holdings of the State Office," as reported by N-TV.
The obverse of the coin shows a bust with a diadem. The beginning of the inscription, which runs clockwise around the edge, is pressed and therefore difficult to recognize. However, the inscription can be supplemented so that the minting place Dorestad becomes recognizable, according to Stern. Dorestad was a Frisian trading center during the Merovingian period.
On the reverse side, a cross on a step is depicted, and below it are six spheres arranged in two rows. The inscription on the reverse side, also running clockwise around the edge, gives the name of the mint official Medelinus.
The coin weighs only 1.1 grams and has a gold content of twelve percent. "As a store of value or in exchange for goods, this coin, due to its low weight of 1.1 grams, would not have played a significant role, but as a gift, jewelry, or as a memento with rarity character, it would have been significant for its former owner," Tauschensky stated, according to Die Zeit. "That illustrates how rare and special these coins are," she s
"The Belkau Tremissis was probably minted between 670 and 675 in the region of the former Frisian place Dorestad," Tauschensky said, as reported by Stern. "This Tremissis was an expression of communication and exchange over greater distances," she added.
The Tremissis was the third of the standard gold coin Solidus in the Roman Empire. The Merovingian coinage system was centrally organized; however, the coins were minted in a mobile manner according to tax districts. To date, over 600 minting locations have been documented, according to Die Zeit.
"Mint masters traveled from place to place, not always in large cities, but also in villages," Tauschensky explained. The mobility of minting practices contributed to the diversity of coinage found from the era.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq