Recycled Byzantine silver drove Europe's 7th century revival

Cosmos magazine ^ | April 9, 2024 | Matthew Agius

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Before France dominated European coin production under Charlemagne, the richest members of the continent's Middle Age societies were likely melting down valuable Byzantine artefacts for legal tender.

...a collection of ancient coins used throughout north-western Europe at least 1,200 years ago was found to be made of recycled Byzantine silver. It's a finding they say shines a light on 7th-century trade and geopolitics.

The origin of the metal stocks was achieved through a lead isotope analysis of the coins from England, the Netherlands and parts of France. Coins minted using silver from Melle, north of Bordeaux, have previously been evaluated, but the new research sought to trace the composition of these particular pennies held by the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The coins were minted from 660-750CE.

The ratios of silver to other trace elements provided the first clues about the origin of around half the coins from England, Francia (modern-day France) and Frisia (modern-day Netherlands and northwest Germany).

The composition of these coins more closely matches Byzantine metal – rather than Roman silver – suggesting trade routes between northwest Europe and the Byzantine Empire were underway well beforehand, despite what previous researchers had described as a 'low point' in trade...

While the composition of the 29 coins from 660-750CE was suggestive of Byzantine silver, the origin of another 20 coins minted over the next 70 years suggests the introduction of a new 'silver stock' – most likely, the researchers suggest, from the Melle mine in France.

Naismith says this sudden spike in silver from Melle points to the rise of Frankish power under the Carolingian dynasty from the mid-8th century, marked most notably by the rule of Charlemagne.

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Professor Rory Naismith holding a Byzantine silver coin.

Credit: Adam Page, supplied.

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Wow, pretty neat!