Denier of Louis the Pious

This is the second coin to come in this week from Tim Pickard. It looks a bit like some Anglo-Saxon silver pennies and is a similar size but it is European rather than English.

Within the inner circle on the obverse is a cross pattee with pellets in the angles and the surrounding legend on this side reads H LVDOVVICVS IMP. The Ludovicus referred to in the legend was known as Louis the Pious (814-840) and was a fairly early member of the Frankish Carolingian dynasty, which was the successor to the Merovingian dynasty.

On the reverse is a stylised building, which is meant to represent the façade of a temple. The legend on this side reads +PISTIANA RELIGIO. The coin is a silver denier and was probably struck at a mint situated at Melle.

Louis was the son of Charles the Great (768 to 814), otherwise known as Charlemagne, who was crowned by the Pope Leo III as the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD. Louis was the fourth ruler of the Carolingian dynasty, which had been founded by Charles Martel. The latter was the grandfather of Charlemagne and father of Pepin the Short, who became King of the Franks in 751. On the death of Pepin in 768 Charlemagne ruled over the Carolingian Empire.    

Valuation

Tim’s find is well struck and would grade VF. Carolingian deniers are rarely found in England but in itself this is not a scarce coin due to a very high number being struck. It’s a nice looking coin but as it isn’t particularly scarce on the international market my price range would be no higher than £180 to £220.

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