Early Merovingian silver denier
Later 7th century ・ silver ・ 7th century ・ Moneyers of the Frankish world
Through the seventh century the gold fineness of Merovingian coinage fell by stages, and around 670–680 the gold tremissis in the Frankish world was replaced by a small silver coin. This is the beginning of the Frankish silver denier. Where gold had been money for distance, for large sums and for prestige, silver was money for short distances, for daily life and for practical business, and western Europe entered a silver standard in fact for centuries to come. It was a turn that cut away from the gold of the Mediterranean and moved the weight of the economy to the silver of the north.