Merovingian Kings did not pay the majority of their officials, so only large landowners could afford to be officials. Exceptions were officials who had no income of their own and who enjoyed the revenues of certain villages belonging to the Royal Treasury. Because they had their own means to organize, they were assigned and responsible for public organization too. This whole system of government was very decentralized, with little rules in place.

Treasure was not important for its commercial economic value, but for its symbolic value in a gift-giving economy. Gifts of precious objects made the political coalitions that existed visible. The Treasure of a King was considered more or less the Collective Property of the Kingdom.

In a society in which Honour was an Important Asset, the Higher Social Position of an official was of great importance to them.

Byzantine coinage was in use in Francia before Theudebert I began minting his own money at the start of his reign. He was the first to issue a distinctly Merovingian coinage. On gold coins struck in his royal workshop, Theodebert is shown in the pearl-studded regalia of the Byzantine emperor; Childebert I is shown in profile in the ancient style, wearing a toga and a diadem. The solidus and triens were minted in Francia between 534 and 679. The denarius (or denier) appeared later, in the name of Childeric II and various non-royals around 673–675. A Carolingian denarius replaced the Merovingian one, and the Frisian penning, in Gaul from 755 to the 11th century.

About the year 570, Merovingian pseudo-imperial coinage disappears and is replaced by a “national” coinage very different in style and fabric. The sole denomination was the increasingly debased gold tremissis, at a reduced weight of about 1.2 grams.

Coins from early hoards averaged 85-95% gold, but by 670 the fineness was down to around 30%, with some late examples containing as little as 13% gold; in jeweler’s terms, less than four carats fine. They would have looked very much like silver.

The obverse usually bore a crude bust, and the reverse a cross. A common form of the cross found on these coins is the croix ancrée, or “anchor cross,” with two semicircles springing from the top in opposite directions. Names of Kings appear rarely. Of some 32 rulers, coins are known for only 12.

Instead, the names of mints and “moneyers” appear, usually crudely lettered and often only partly legible because dies were cut too large for the flans. Over 800 different mints have been identified, along with over 1,500 different moneyers. These moneyers were artisan contractors, sometimes itinerant, who produced short runs of coinage from any available precious metal when local chiefs or clerics needed coins.

The most famous Merovingian moneyer was Eligius (or Eloi). Born about 588 near Limoges, he apprenticed as a goldsmith. His skill was so great that King Chlothar II (ruled 613-629) commissioned him to make a gem-studded golden throne, and appointed him as mint master at Marseille. Under Dagobert I (ruled 623-634) Eligius became chief counselor to the King. Gold solidi and tremisses in the name of Eligius as moneyer were minted at Paris, Marseilles and a Palatium (“the Palace”) – probably wherever the King happened to be at the time.

Armentarius was a moneylender who operated in the late 6th century. As a man of the Jewish religion, he was able to work around the medieval Christian stigma against usury, and could lend money, buy government bonds, and charge interest on his loans. Yet, his benefit of being able to receive interest payments came at great risk, especially as Armentarius’ clients could often be at the top of society, with leading nobles and their assistants making up much of his business.