Dagobert I, AD 629-639

Cf. NM 44 (for type); Lafaurie 40; cf. Belfort 2501 (legends); cf. Prou 1395 (same), Very Fine

In 622, Clothaire II appointed his son Dagobert I as King of Austrasia in an effort to bind the Austrasian Frankish nobility more closely to him. When his father died, Dagobert I inherited Neustria as well as Burgundy and established his capital at Paris. The devout king founded the Basilica of Saint Denis, which subsequently became the burial church for the Kings of France. Dagobert I was the first king to be buried there. He is remembered as the last Merovingian king to wield real power. Defended his realm both against Frankish rivals, like his half-brother Charibert II, and against external threats like the Slavic Wends while attaining riches from exploits in Visigothic Spain and his protection of market towns. The lion-headed curule chair believed to have been his throne was used by the rulers of France down to the time of Napoleon.

Marseilles. Elegius, moneyer. ?AGOCCRTV(retrograde S), diademed and draped bust of Dagobert I right; C to right / (wreath) [ELEG]IV(retrograde S) MO2, cross potent set on globe; M ? flanking cross, V II flanking globe; all within pelleted border.

Ex Triton XIX (6 January 2016), 2203; Leu 44 (13 October 1987), 1001