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France: Carolingian. Charlemagne (768-814) "Portrait" Denier ND (September 813-January 814) XF (Gilt, Tooled, Environmental Damage), ...
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Description
A Legendary Series Rarity - The Portrait Denier of Charlemagne
Carolingian. Charlemagne (768-814) "Portrait" Denier ND
(September 813-January 814) XF (Gilt, Tooled, Environmental
Damage), Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) mint, Class 4, Gariel-Plate
XII, 169-170, Prou-982, MG-314 (same obverse die), Dep-1171 (5
examples studied), Nou-104, MEC I-Unl., Kluge-253 (same obverse
die), 254 (same reverse die), Coupland, "The Portrait Coinage of
Charlemagne" (in Early Medieval Monetary History - Studies in
Memory of Mark Blackburn. Aldershot 2014, pp. 145-156), nos. 1
(same obverse die), 4 (same dies), 9 (same dies), Coupland, "Un
denier au portrait de Charlemagne" (discussing this coin),
Coupland, "The Formation of a European Identity: Revisiting
Charlemagne's Coinage," pg. 220, Fig. 14.5 (this coin). 19mm.
1.55gm. +DN KARLVS IMP AVG REX F ET L •, laureate, draped bust of
Charlemagne right / +XPICTIΛNΛ RELIGIO, "temple" portico. The
absolute pinnacle of rarity within the series and one of the most
highly sought-after types in all of Carolingian numismatics-the
Portrait Denier of Charlemagne. Long lauded for its portrayal of
"the Father of Europe" in the guise of a Roman Emperor-dressed in a
paludamentum and crowned with a laurel wreath-with the image of a
Christian church or the aedicule in the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher in Jerusalem on the reverse, there are few coins that
possess such an enormous symbolic clout despite such a short period
of production. Indeed, though the issue was likely minted for less
than 6 months from dies cut exclusively at Charlemagne's capital of
Aachen, its image of a conquering and pacifying Christian Emperor
would be perpetuated at mints throughout the realm during the first
2 years of the reign of his son, Louis the Pious. Today, just 56
examples of this coinage are documented, with more than half (32
specimens) residing in museums, and 1 presumed lost (Coupland no.
22). Despite the relatively poor preservation of this
representative, which is typically the norm for the type, its
condition certainly speaks to the almost magical or reverential
attention with which such coins were treated contemporarily. At
least two of the other examples in Coupland's census (see "The
Portrait Coinage of Charlemagne") were gilt, either for personal
adornment on a fibula or brooch (nos. 20 and 32), or otherwise used
to decorate the cover of a book such as the New Testament (no. 22).
A survey of auction records from the last two decades reveals just
4 others having come to market, certainly reinforcing the utter
scarcity of the type and just how special the present occasion is
for collectors.Scholars have long argued over the dating of this issue, with perspectives ranging from its production in association Charlemagne's coronation in Rome on Christmas 800, to Philip Grierson's proposal that its issuance corresponded with Charlemagne's recognition as Emperor in the West by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Michael I in 812, a view which gained enormous traction in the decades after he first published it in 1965. In more recent years, Simon Coupland has properly situated the coinage in the extremely brief period from Louis the Pious' coronation as co-emperor in Aachen in September 813, until Charlemagne's death in January 814; during this period, as for the whole duration between the introduction of Charlemagne's monumental monetary reform in 793 to 814, the aniconic so-called reform coinage continued to be the primary circulating type throughout the Carolingian Empire. Coupland further argues that the whole of Charlemagne's portrait coinage was minted (or at the very least the dies cut) at Aachen. Such would certainly explain the extraordinarily small number of surviving specimens, compared to the portrait coinage that inaugurated the reign of his son, Louis, which constituted a serious component of the money supply throughout the empire.
We note that this coin is ineligible for certification due to the obverse gilding.
Ex. Jean Elsen Auction 129 (June 2016, Lot 332)
From the Historical Scholar Collection
More information about French Coins. See also: France World Coin Nationality.
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Auction Info
2022 August 25, 27 - 28 World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction - Chicago #3101 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
August, 2022
25th-28th
Thursday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 10
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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