Pepin I, the Short, 741-768

Depeyrot 796; Morrison & Grunthal 69; MEC 1, -, Extremely Fine

Pepin the Short, the younger son of the famous Charles Martel, ruled the Frankish kingdoms of Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence as mayor of the palace while his brother Carloman ruled Austrasia, Alemannia and Thuringia in the same capacity. Together they established the weak Childeric III as roi fainéant (“do-nothing king”), but by the time Carloman retired to a monastery in 747, Pepin had lost his taste for the pretense of ruling as mayor of the palace. He therefore engineered the deposition of Childeric III with the aid of Pope Zachary and had himself elected king by the Frankish nobility. Pepin the Short thus became the first Frankish king of the Carolingian dynasty. His friendly relationship with the Popes of Rome simultaneously set the stage for his son, Charles (the future Charlemagne) to become the first in a long line of Holy Roman Emperors and permitted the development of the Papal States in Italy. Pepin spent the rest of his reign expanding the territory of the united Frankish kingdom, campaigning against the Saxons and Bavarians, defeating the Lombards in northern Italy, conquering lands in what is now southwestern France, and driving occupying Muslim forces south across the Pyrenees.

Quentovic. Rx:F. Reverse: QVCCI/VVIC in two lines.

Ex Elsen (13 September 2014), 453