charlemagne, charles the bald and the 'karolus' monogram coinage : a multi-disciplinary study /...

8/17/2019 Charlemagne, Charles the Bald and the 'Karolus' monogram coinage : a multi-disciplinary study / Guillaume Sarah

1/75

The Numismatic

Chronicle

VOLUME

17

LONDON

THE ROYAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

2 1

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2/75


3/75

Charlemagne,

Charles the Bald and the

Karolus

monogram coinage.

A

multi-disciplinary study

GUILLAUME SARAH1

PLATES 15-21

Abstract:Coins struck

n

the

name

of

'Charles with a Karolus

monogram

could

have been struck

by

several

Carolingian

rulers. The most

ikely

re

Charlemagne

(768-814),

Charles

the Bald

(840-77)

and Charles the

Simple

(897-922).

This

article combines

survey f

the atest

numismatic esearch withnew data on metal

composition

n order to determine he ikeliest ttribution

n a mint

by

mintbasis.

106 Karolus

monogram

oins were

analysed along

with

many ontemporary

ssues,

including

the entire collections

of

the Cabinet des Médailles

of

the

Bibliothèque

nationale

de France

(BnF)

and the Monnaie de

Paris

(MdP). Particularly useful

resultshave been obtained orthemints fthePalace, Bourges,Toulouse,

Melle and

Sens.

Introduction:

arolus

monogram

oins

One Of the

main

debates

in

Carolingian

numismatics concerns the

precise

identification

f coins struck

n

the

name of 'Charles' and

displaying

a Karolus

monogram.Among Carolingian

rulers,

everal Charles

might

have minted these

coins. The most

likely

candidates

are the Frankish

kings Charlemagne

768-814),

Charles the Bald

(840-77)

and Charles

the

Simple

(897-922).

This articleundertakes o

present

reliable,

up-to-date

verview of the research

and unsolvedquestionsregarding hese Karolus monogram oins, along with new

data on metal

composition.

This

approach

combines a

study

of the

place

of

issue,

with othernumismaticdata such as

hoard

composition

and coin

alloy,

in

order

to

determine he ikeliest

ttributionor ach

variety.

6

Karolus

monogram

oins have

been

analysed along

with

many

contemporary

ssues,

ncluding

heentire

ollections

of the

Cabinet des Médailles of the

Bibliothèque

nationalede France

BnF)

and the

Monnaie

de Paris

MdP).

1

RAMAT Centrernest abelonCNRS),Université'Orléans,D rue e aFérollerie,5071

Orléans

edex

,

France.

he uthor ould

ike o

hank

arc

ompaire

ndMichel

hénin or heir

advice

uring

he

reparation

f his

aper,

nd

imon

oupland

or

eading

nd

orrectingpreliminary

version.

any

hanks

o

Thierry

armant,

ormerirecteur-

djoint

nd

oMichel

mandry,

irecteur

of he abinet

esMédailles

f

he

ibliothèque

ationale

e

France,

nd

oJean-Luc

esnier,

urator

at

heMonnaie e

Paris,

or

llowing

he

tudy

f heirollections.

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4/75

228

GUILLAUMEARAH

Karolus

monogram

oins

The Karolus

monogram

s formed

y

thefour etters

, R,

L

and

S

arranged

round

a central ozenge. The upper partof this lozenge - with or without chevron-

represents

he

A

of the name

KAROLVS,

the lower

part

the

V,

and the

lozenge

itself s the O as a rhombus:

O-

This

design

was introduced

y Charlemagne

fter

the

general

reform f

weights

nd

measures

n the winter 93/4.2The

monogram

s

surrounded

y

a

circular

egend

on

all

the deniers nd some of the obols. The other

obols bear

only

a

large monogram illing

he

fieldon

the obverse. The

opposite

side

usually

bears a cross

in

a circular

egend.

Although

the Karolus

monogram

s common to all these

coins,

there s some

variety.

he

monogram ppears

on the reverse3

f the

majority

f the

deniers

but

on

a significant roportiont s on theobverse.There does not eem to be a geographical

correlation o this difference n

design.4

The

shape

of the

monogram

tselfvaries

from ne mint o

another.

t can

also

vary

from ne coin to another

n

the ame mint.

Philip

Grierson nd

Mark

Blackburnnoticed

that

he

K

is

generally ngraved

as a

square shaped

C

on the Italian issues of

Charlemagne.5

his is also the case with

other

monogram

ssues of

Charlemagne,

nd for ome coins of

Charles theBald. The

L and the S

may

appear

reversed,

specially

on Toulouse coins of Charles the Bald.

The central

ozenge

in

the

monogrammay

be

accompanied by

a

small

v

to turn he

A

into an A. Crescentsor

pellets

sometimes

ppear

in

the

quarters

f the central ross

on theother ide. This

cross

can also

be

placed

on

steps

for

Mainz

or

Sens),

replaced

by the letter (Mainz), a 'Greek' monogramwiththe egendET LANG AC PAT

ROM),

or surrounded

y

the mintname

(Notre-Dame

of

Laon).

Thereare various

ways

of

spelling

of the

king's

name and title.

t

s

usually

written

CARLVS REX FR

on

Charlemagne's

ssues,

but s sometimes hortened n Charles

the

Bald's

in

several

ways,

the commonestof which was to omit the FR. It could

also be

lengthened

o CAROLVS REX FRAN. Mint names are

usually

city

names,

sometimes followed

by

eitherCI VI or CI

VITAS;

this

variationcan

often,

hough

not

always,

be used to

distinguish harlemagne's

ssues from hose of Charles the

Bald.6

Deniers constitute he bulk of the Karolus monogram oins, both n hoards and

collections,

but obols

are nevertheless ssential to the

understanding

f

Carolingian

2

This

monogramppears

n

a

few oins f

Charlemagne

hich ere

robably

truck

eforehe

reformf

93/4,

ike ome eniersrom

reviso

Prou

11

=

MG

215).

3

The bversend everseave een efineds

follows:

he

ide

with

he

oyal

ame nd itles the

obverse,

nd he idewithhemint

ame

sthe

everse.heKarolus

monogram,

hichanbe ncircled

by

ne

r

otherf hese wo

egends,

an

onsequentlyppear

neitherhe bverseron he everse.

This

way

o

definehe wo ides s themost ommon

ne,

hough

rou,

or

xample,

onsideredhe

monogram

he

etermining

eatureo

dentify

he

bverse,

ee

Prou,

.

v.

4

The

isposition

f he

egends

s

generally

onsistentn ll oins romnemint.he ase f

Mainz s

exceptional

s some

oins romhismint ave he

monogram

n he

bverse,

thersn he

everse,

nd

the entralross n he theride s sometimeslacedbove tepsnd ometimeseplacedy P.

5

MEC

,

p.

199.

6

MG,

MEC and

Depeyrot

sed his

ifferentiationf he

egend

s a

chronological

riterion.

hey

attributehe

Karolus

monogram

oins,

hose

everse

egends ay

ndwith

RBS,

IVIS

r

CI,

from

themintsf

Agen

ndDax

toCharleshe ald.This s not

reliable asis or classificationf he

coinsminted

y

hese wo

ulers,

ee

Coupland,

harleshe

ald,

.

125.



5/75

CHARLEMAGNE,

HARLESHEBALD

AND HE

KAROWS ONOGRAMOINAGE.

229

minting olicy.

The

study

of hoards and of the

provenance

of obols7 demonstrates

that

he

widespread heory

hat heir

triking egan

underLouis thePious is incorrect.

Two

types

of obols were struck.On the first

large monogram

ills he fieldon the

obverse and the mintname

appears, usually encircling

cross,

on the reverse. On

the second

group

the

type

s similar o that f common

deniers,

withthe

king's

title

around cross on the obverse and the

monogram

ncircled

by

the mintname on the

reverse.The hoards ndicatethat he coins of thefirst

roup

could have been minted

either

by Charlemagne

or

by

Charles the

Bald,

whereas those of the second

group

can

only

be attributedo the atter.

FIG.

I.

The Karolus

monogram represented

with chevron

inside the central

ozenge

to standfor n

A).

Karolus

monogram

oins,

whose attributionnd

dating

s well establishedhave

not been

considered n this

paper.

These include the deniersof Treviso

dated to the

yearsbefore 793/48 nd theGratia dei Rex coins minted fter he reform f 864.9

Some of the rare

gold

solidi of

Charlemagne,

with the

monogram,

have also been

omitted.

The state

of

current esearch

The debate

regarding

he attributionf Karolus

monogram

oins which

began

in

themiddle of

the nineteenth

entury

as been summarised

y

a number f authors.10

Louis de Coster

pointed

out

that some

monogram

coins were minted

by

both

Charlemagne

and Charles the Bald.11

Hoard evidence

suggests

thatmints such

as

Beauvais,

Clermont,

imoges

and

Melle,

may

have continued

trikingmonogram

7

MEC

,

p.

206,

Depeyrot,

G andHaertlettribute

ll the bols

hey

iscuss oCharleshe ald.

For he eattributionf ome

f hese bols o

Charlemagne

ee S.

Coupland,

Dorestadnthe inth

century:

henumismatic

vidence',

MP

5, 1988,

p.

5-25 at

p.

13,

nd

Coupland,harlemagne,

p.

220. Some

Carolingian

bols reeven

known eforehe eformf

793/4,

or

harlemagne

nd

Pippin

he hort.

.

Schiesser,

Les oboles nifacese

Charlemagne

e

Melle',

nA. Clairandnd

D.

Hollard

eds.),Numismatique

t

rchéologie

n

Poitou-Charentes,

p.

9-62

Niort,009);

R.

Weiller,

Die

MünzenonTrier.

,1,

Düsseldorf,

988),

.

267.

8

MECI,

p.

199.

9

For fulleriscussion

n he

roblems

f

dating

hese

oins eeS.

Coupland,

L'article

I de 'Edit

de Pitresu25 uin 64',BSFNAO1985), p.

713-14.

10 ee L. deCoster,Restitutione

quelques

monnaiesCharlemagne',BN 2 1852, p.369-403

at

p.

371

Prou,

p.

v-xii,

ndmore

ecently

EC

,

p.

209.

11

e

Coster,Restitution',

p.

71-96.

he

omposition

f he

arolus

monogram

oins tudiedlso

contributes

o he

nderstanding

f he

minting

f bols: he ew

ublishedy

e

Coster,

hose bverse

isfilled

y

he

monogram

from gen, ourges,

orestadnd

Melle),

were

ertainly

inted

uring

he

reign

f

Charlemagne,

s the uthor

uggests

.

391.



6/75

230

GUILLAUMEARAH

coins after hedeathof Charles theBald.12 ome

might

ven be

attributableo Charles

the

Simple

but,

s MEC

proposes,

others

re-

nd

post-

date his

reign.13

his

strongly

suggests hat hemonogram ypemighthave been immobilisedbya few mints fter

the end of the

reign

of Charles the Bald.

Simon

Coupland's

article

attributing

ome Karolus

monogram

coins to

Charlemagne

or Charles the

Bald is the most

up

to date

study,

nd his attributions

seem well

justified.14

e

rightly

estores ome obols

bearing

the

monogram

n

the

obverse field to

Charlemagne,15

hich is of

important

or our

understanding

f

minting

nd circulation nder both rulers.He also

provides

a

general

overview of

the

minting

f obols in

Carolingian

imes.

This workhas notbeen taken nto ccount

by Georges Depeyrot

in

the most recent

synthesis

on

Carolingian

numismatics.

Furthermore,mportantnformation as since beenuncoveredbyour recent tudy f

the

coinage

of Melle betweenthe

reigns

of

Charlemagne

nd Charles the Bald.16

Grierson nd

Blackburnhave

pointed

out that oins

lacking

the

final

etters

R

of

the

royal

titleCARLVS REX can without oubt

be attributed o Charles the Bald.17

This is crucial to

distinguishing

he

ssues,

even

though

few coins attributable

o

Charlemagne

do not bear the

completeroyal

titleCARLVS REX FR.18

Study

of the

composition

of datable hoards

containing

Karolus

monogram

oins

and of the

variety

of theirobverse and reverse

egends

has

provided

a

firm

asis

for

dating

deniers and obols. Table

2

sets out the

typology

f all

coins considered

here,

and the relevant hoard evidence.

The coins have been sorted into

distinct

chronologicalperiods: Charlemagne,Charles the Bald before864, and Charles the

Bald after

64 to Charles the

Simple

for he

mmobilised ssues.

General

features Figs

2 and

3)

As Prou

pointed

ut,

t

s easier to

dentify

he oins

not ttributableo

Charlemagne

than those

which are.19The

variety

f the mint

names

appearing

n the hoards

of

Charlemagne's

ime re

helpful

n

that

espect,

specially

when the mints n

question

are

certain to be outside the borders

of his

grandson's

kingdom.Although

some

mistakes remain even in

the most recent

studies,20

most of the attributions

re

12See M.M.Archibald,

Dating

uerdale:he videncefthe oins' n

J.Graham-Campbell

ed),

Viking

reasure

rom

he orthWest.

he uerdaleoardn ts

ontextNational useumsnd

Galleries

on

Merseyside

ccasional

apers,

Liverpool,992), p.

15-20.

13

AÍECI,

.

246.

14

Coupland,harlemagne,

p.

18-20.

15

Ibid.,

.

220.

16

G.

Sarah,

Analyses

lémentairese monnaiese

Charlemagne

tde Louis e Pieux

uCabinet

des

Médaillesle casde

Melle',

nA.

ClairandndD. Hollard

eds.),

Numismatique

t

Archéologie

n

Poitou-Charentes

Niort,

009),

p.

3-83.

MECI,

p.

232.

18

or

xample

coin romn unidentifiedint ith

he everse

egend

VN+NIS,

n which

he

king'sitles spelled ARLVSREXF orCARLVSRE Prou 12;MG 1373-1374, ith mistaken

attributionoCharles

he

ald),

s

ikely

ohave

eenminted

y

Charlemagne

s one uch enier

as

been

nearthedt

Dorestad,

ee

Völckers

II,61,

p.

143.

19

Prou. .

viii. ee also

CouDland.harles he ald. . 126.

20

his

uestion

oesnot eem ohave

een

pecifically

tudied

y

Haertlend

epeyrot

or

xample,

whose

atest orkstill ontainome ld

fashioneddeas.



7/75

CHARLEMAGNE,

HARLES

HEBALD ND HE


231

reliable. In these

cases,

further

tudy

s therefore

nnecessary

here: this s the case

for

monogram

coins from

he Italian mints

Lucca,

Milan, Pavia,

Pisa,

Treviso),

from he

Spanish

March

(Ampurias,

Barcelona, Gerona,

Roda)

and from outhern

France

Arles,

Béziers,

Lyon,

Marseille,

Narbonne,

Vienne),

for oins frommost of

themints ocated on or north

f theLoire and in

Germany Cologne,

Dorestad,Laon,

Mainz,

Orleans,

Quentovic,

Rouen, Saint-Denis, Tours,

Trier),

s well as for hose

from nidentified r uncertain

mints

EX

METALLO

NOVO, DVNNOS, TVNNIS,

ET LANG AC PAT

ROM).

The Karolus

monogram

oins discussed here are those struck

n

the three

mints

that

undoubtedly

truck uch coins

under both

Charlemagne

and Charles the Bald

(Bourges,

Toulouse and

Melle);

in

Sens,

which

we

argue

also minted hem

during

both reigns; in Agen, Chelles and Dax, whose attributions ave been rectified

recently;

nd

finally

rom he mintswhich

only

struck

hese coins underCharles the

Bald

(Beauvais,

Clermont,

ompiègne,

Limoges,

Nevers,

Noyon,

Palace).

In addition o standard umismatic

methods,

his

tudy

has made use of therecent

metallurgical nalysis

of the BnF's entirecollection

of

Carolingian

coins minted

prior

to the Edict of Pitres

of 864.

Approximately

even hundred

oins have been

analysed by

a new method alled LA-ICP-MS.21

The

composition,

ilverfineness s

well as

specific

raceelement

patterns,

f silvercoins of

Pippin

the

Short,Carloman,

Charlemagne,

Louis the

Pious,

Pippin

I and

Pippin

II

of

Aquitaine,

Lothar and

Charles the

Bald has thusbeen determined.22

Figure

2 shows the silverfineness of the coins minted n the whole Frankish

territory

t

first,

nd

in

Francia

occidentalis

only

from he

reign

f Charles theBald.

The coins

have been dated

according

to theirnumismatic haracteristics.

or

Pippin

the

Short,

he two

main varieties:

RP

and

RF and the few deniersthatdo not

match

eitherhave

been treated s a

single

unit,

as there seems to be

no

certainty

bout

a

typological

transition

n 754.23

Charlemagne's

issues have been sorted

nto four

different

ategories,

nd Louis

the Pious' into

three,

n

accordance

withMEC.2*

Unlike the

preceding

ulers,

whose coin

types

ach

roughly orrespond

o a

minting

period,

Charles the

Bald mintedfive different

ypes

of coins between

840 and

864,

accordingto MEC: those are cross/mint ame in thefield;bust/mintame in the

field;

cross/gateway;monogram/cross;

emple type.25

ean Lafaurie and

Coupland

21

aser

Ablation

nductivelyoupled

lasmaMass

Spectrometry.

ee G.

Sarah,

. Gratuzend

J.-N.

arrandon,

Application

f aser blation

nductivelyoupled lasma

mass

pectrometry

LA-

ICP-MS)

or he

nvestigation

f ncientilver

oins',

ournal

fAnalytical

tomic

pectrometry

2/9

(2007), p.

1

63-7,

or he etailsf

he

pplication

f his

methodo ncientilveroins.

he A-ICP-

MS

protocol

sed

or he

nalysis

asbeen

specially

eveloped

nordero void he

roblem

f ilver

surfacenrichment.ee

bid, ndG.

Sarah,

.

Bompaire,

.

McCormick,

. Rovelli ndC.

Guerrot,

'Analyses

lémentaires

e monnaies

e

Charlemagne

t Louis

e Pieux u Cabinet es

Médailles

L'italie

arolingienne

t

Venise',

N 164

2008), p.

355-406

t

pp.

61-4.

22 he irstartf histudyncoins fCharlemagne,ouis he ious ndLotharromarolingian

Italy

ndVenice asbeen

ecentlyublished.

arah t

l.,

Analyses

lémentaires',

p.

64-93.

23

or

his

ossible

ransitionee

J.

Lafaurie,

Numismatique

Des

Mérovingiens

ux

Carolingiens.

Les monnaiese

Pépin

e

Bref,

rancia

1974),

p.

6-48

t

p.

37.

24

MEC

,

pp.

05-17.

25

Ibid.,

p.

31-2.



8/75

232

GUILLAUMEARAH

have both

proposed

a

chronology

or

hese

types,26

hich

will

not be discussed

here,

as the aim is

only

to create

a

general chronological

lassification

ssigning

coins to

theperiodbefore r after he Edict of Pitres f 864. The four arieties fcoins listed

above for

the

years

840-64,

excepting

the

monogramgroup,

have therefore een

treated s a

single group corresponding

o Charles the Bald

first

eriod'.

The situation s much

simpler

fter he

introduction f the novi denarii in 864.

One main

type

can

be

identified,

he GDR

type', bearing

the Karolus

monogram

and the

legend

GRATIA

DEI

REX27 nd which we call

here 'Charles the Bald

second

period'.

Karolus

monogram

ssues were

minted

during

ne or both

periods

depending

n the mint.

They

have therefore een

separated,

nd their haracteristics

scrutinised n order o date them

more

accurately.

he

imperial

oins of

Charles the

Bald, minted rom 76 at some mints, nd probably fterhisdeath n 877, have not

been considered.28

FIG. 2. Evolutionof

the ilverfineness f

the

Carolingian

oins from

ippin

the

Short o

Charles theBald

(75

1-875).

The

average

calculated from ll the

values

considered

ppears

as well as the

relative tandard eviation.

Three main

mintingperiods

are considered here

for the issue of the

Karolus

monogram

oins:

Charlemagne

93/4-812

Class III),

Charles

theBald 840-64

(first

period),

and

Charles the Bald 864-77

(second

period).

For some

mints,

monogram

coins

may

have been

minted fter 77 but

not

using

he

mperial

itle

will

be

discussed

later.

The

study

f the ilver

fineness nd of the inc and

gold

content

roved

valuable

help

in

attributing

he coins either

o

Charlemagne

or

Charles the

Bald.

Figure

2

clearly

hows that

Charlemagne's

monogram

oins

(Class III)

as well as

Charles the

Bald's second periodissues are of very pure silver.The average silverfineness f

26

J.

afaurie,

L'article

I

de 'édit e Pitresu

25

uin

64',

nT.

Fischernd . lisch

eds),

agom.

Festschriftur

eter

erghaus

um

0.

Geburtstag

m20.

November

Münster,

981),

p.

113-17 t

pp.

116-17;

oupland,

harles he

ald

pp.

141-2.

27

his

egendppears

n

most f he

ases s GRATIA l

REX.

28

or hese oins

ee MEC

1,

p.

33-5.



9/75

CHARLEMAGNE,

HARLESHEBALD

ND HE

KAROWS

ONOGRAMOINAGE.

233

these wo

groups

s 92.7%

for heoldercoins and

94.2%

for he ater oins.

Moreover,

the relative

tandard

eviation,

round

2.3%

in both

cases,

shows

a

good

standard

of control.A significant ifferencen the silver content an, on the otherhand,be

observed in coins fromCharles the Bald's first

eriod

(840-64). Figure

2

clearly

shows that heir ineness s much lower

66.7%

on

average),

and the

scattering

f

the values is

very

wide

(15.9%

relative

tandard

deviation).

As there s no reason

to believe

that

ome cities

ssuing monogram

oins

during

Charles the Bald's

reign

maintained

higher

ilver

standard han

others,

t can

safely

be assumed thatthe

level of silver fineness

s sufficiento

distinguish

imilarcoins mintedbefore nd

after 64. The resultsobtained

previouslyby

Michael

Metcalf and J.P.Northover

concurwithours and withthis

nterpretation.29

he silver content

annot,however,

be used to separate Charlemagne's monogram oins fromCharles the Bald's post

864

issues,

as the values for hese two

groups

re too similar.

Hoard evidence

suggests

that ome Karolus

monogram

oins were

minted fter

the death of Charles the

Bald,

mainly

n

Aquitaine

Clermont,

imoges,

Melle)

but

also

eleswhere

Beauvais,

Palace).

It is

likely

hat here re such coins

in our

corpus,

in

particular

ne from he Cuerdale hoard

(Prou

768 from

Clermont,

L

15,

20).

Like all the othersminted fter 64

it

has a

veryhigh

silver content.

onsequently,

no

attempt

as been made to

separate

he mmobilised oins minted fter

77 from

the other

monogram

oins on thebasis of their

omposition.

t

can

only

be said

that

the mmobilised oins minted fter

77

are of

high purity

ilver,

ike others

dating

from heyears864-77. These coins are discussed moreextensively n the section

dedicated o each

mint.

The

study

of trace elements

n

coins

dating

from he three

minting eriods

of

Karolus

monogram

oins can also be used as a criterion o

distinguish

ssues that re

similarfrom numismatic

oint

of view but that

might

have been struck

uring ny

one

of thethree

eriods.

Two elements re of

particular

nterest: inc and

gold.

Gold

can be used as

a

marker f

silver,

nd the

study

of

the

percentage

of this element

could

help distinguish

oins

made of

precious

metalfrom ifferent

rovenances.

The

use of zinc as a

distinguishing

lement s also

possible.

The mostobvious distinction hownby Figure3 concerns hecoins of Charles the

Bald's first

eriod

840-64),

grouped

n

ellipse

B: their inc content

s much

higher

than hat f the others. he

study

f the

Zn/(Zn+Cu)

ratio

see

the values

in

Table

2)

clearly

shows

that

brass rather

han

pure copper

was added to the silver to devalue

the

alloy. Only

fourcoins

from his

group

have

lower

zinc

concentration

nd are

outside

ellipse

B. The

years

840-64

can therefore e characterised s

minting

ilver

debased with

brass,

with zinc content

anging

rom bout

1%

to 10%.

29

ee D.M. MetcalfndJ.P.

orthover,

Coinage lloys

romhe ime fOffa nd

Charlemagne

to

C.864,'

C 149

1989),

p.

101-20 t

pp.

114-15 nd

118-19;

.M. MetcalfndJ.P.

orthover,

'CarolingianndVikingoins romheCuerdale oard: ninterpretationndcomparisonf their

metal

ontents',

C 148

1988),

p.

97-116 t

pp.

100-6 nd 110-11.MEC

interprets

he eform

of he dict fPîtress an

attempt

to rid he

irculating

edium

...]

ofthe

many

ounterfeits

n

circulation'MEC

,

p.

233).

n

our

pinion

he

nalyses

upport

etcalfndNorthover's

uggestion

that he ebased oins

irculating

efore64were ot

orgeries,

Carolingian

nd

Viking

oins rom

the uerdale

oard',

.

100.



10/75

234

GUILLAUMEARAH

FIG. 3. Gold content ersusthe

inc

content

or heKarolus

monogram

oins of

Charlemagne's

Class

III,

and Charles the Bald's first nd second

periods. Log

scale

X-axis and Y-axis.

The

coins

of

Charlemagne's

Class III and Charles the Bald's GDR

type

minted

after 64 have a much ower

zinc

content,

withconcentrationslmost

always

below

1000

ppm.

Gold

seems to be the

distinguishing

lementbetween these

two

groups.

The

gold

levels for he coins of

Charlemagne's

Class

III

generally ange

from

bout

100

ppm

to

4000

ppm

(ellipse

A,

Figure

3),

whereas the values for he GDR coins

are either

higher

r ower

ellipses

C and

D).

There also

appears

to be

a link

between

groups

B

and

D,

which could be

interpreted

s an evolution

n

the zinc content

fter

the ntroduction

f the GDR

type

n

864. The

purification

f

the

debased

silver truck

until his

year may

not have been

immediately ffective,

nd traces of the

high

zinc

levels from he metal used

during

he

years

840-64

might

have remained n thefirst

coins of the next

period.

If

that

s the

case,

the five GDR coins of

ellipse

C whose

gold

and zinc levels are

very

ow

might

have been

minted

using

a differentource

of silver. Some

caution must be exercised

in

this

approach,

however,

s the three

ellipses appear

to

overlap. Consequently,

he

dating

of the coins

that

re located

at

the interface

f

ellipses

C and D should be seen as uncertain nless

supported

by

hoard evidence.

Agen Figs

4

and

5)

Deniers and obols of Karolus monogram ypeare known forAgen. The spelling

of the mintname on the reverse

of the deniersvaries:

AGINO, AGINNO,

AGINO



11/75

CHARLEMAGNE,

HARLESHEBALD ND HEKAROWS

ONOGRAMOINAGE.

235

CI VITAS or AGIN CIVITAS. The

king's

title s

always

CARLVS REX

FR.30

nly

one

type

exists for he

obols,

withthe

monogram

illing

he obverse

with

small

v

in the ozenge to form he A ofKarolus; the name of thecity s writtenAG1NNO

around central ross on the reverse.

MG,

followed

by

Depeyrot,

ttributed eniers

with

the mintwritten GINO and

AGINNO to

Charlemagne,

nd theones withAGINO

CIVITAS or AGIN CIVITAS

to Charles the Bald.

They

have

attributed

ll

of the obols to the

atter,

egardless

f

the

presence

n

themint ame of Cl VI or

CIVITAS.31 Lafauriewrites hat

Agen might

have minted

monogram

oins under Charles the

Bald,32

but does not mention

ny

hoardthatwould

ustify

his.MEC

agrees

with

MG and

Depeyrot

s far s the obols

are

concerned,

ut s less definite bout the deniers.The authorswrite hat he short

version fthe ity'sname,Aginno,was expanded oAgincivit nderCharlemagne',33

which

appears

to indicate hat he authors ttributell of the

monogram

oins

from

this

city

o the first

arolingian mperor.

he name of

Agen,

however,

lso

appears

in the ection

dedicated o Charles theBald's

monogram

oins.34 n MEC the

deniers

735 and

736,

which read CARLVS

REX FR

on the obverse and AGINNO around

the

monogram

n the

reverse,

re included

n

Charlemagne's

793/4-812

issues. The

description

f the

second one adds

'Possibly

Charles the Bald'. The

legends

on the

coins are

exactly

he

ame,

except

thatREX

s

spelled

RX on 735. As has been

shown

by

Coupland,

and also discussed

above,

this s not sufficientvidence

to

separate

he

monogram

oins of

Charlemagne

nd Charles the Bald.

The attributionf both hedenierswith he egend endingCIVITAS and the obols

of

Agen

to Charles the Bald does not seem

ustified.Coupland

has

pointed

out that

coins withthe

egend

AGIN CIVITAS

should be attributedo

Charlemagne,

with

number f

convincing rguments. irstly,

uch

deniershave been

reported

rom he

Biebrich

hoard,

which was

undoubtedly

oncealed before

the death of this ruleror

shortly

fter.35his hoard lso contained coin from

gen

with

he

egend

AGINNO,

which ndicatesthat

hey

were struck

uring

he same

period. Finally,

he mintof

Agen

is

only

knownto have been active under

Charlemagne.36

here s no reason to

believe that

ny

coin was minted here n the time of Charles the

Bald,

but

t

must

be noted that hehoard evidence onlyrelates to deniers fourat Dorestad,37wo at

Biebrich,

ne at

Ibersheim)38

nd that

no obol is

reported.

30

afaurie entions

gen mongst

he ities orwhichome

monogram

oins ear

name nd itle

CAROLVS EX

or

CARLVS

EX),

ithout

R

t he nd.No referenceould e

found

or

coin rom

Agen

withuch

legend.

afaurie,

L'article

I

de 'Edit e

Pitres',

.

116.

31

eniers G 177-179

o

Charlemagne,

nd eniers G 1087-1088nd

bolMG 1089 oCharles

the

ald;

Depeyrot

-3for he

eniers,

nd

Depeyrot

for he

bol.

32

Lafaurie,

L'article

I

de 'Edit e

Pitres',

.

1

6.

»

MEC

,

p.

198.

Ibid.,

p.

232.

35

Coupland,

harleshe

ald,

p.

125-6. ee also

Völckers,p.

182-6.

36Coupland,harlemagne,.219.37

hese our eniersrom

gen

renot

tray

inds

s

suggestedy

Völckers

III,

18,

p.

139),

ut

belong

o a

hoard

ating

romhe

eign

f

Charlemagne,

s

Coupland

as tated.ee S.

Coupland,

'Dorestad

n theninth

entury',.

9,

andL. de

Coster,

Explications

aisantuite ux

précédentes

notices

ur 'attribution

Charlemagne

e

quelques ypes

monétaires',

BN 1

1857),

p.

30-54 t

p.

34.

38

or

he iebrichnd bersheimoardseeVölckers

p.

182-6

nd186-7.



12/75

236

GUILLAUMEARAH

FIG. 4.

Comparison

of thefineness f theKarolus

monogram

oins from

Agen

and Dax

with

thatof the ssues from

Charlemagne's

Class III and Charles the

Bald's first nd second

periods.

FIG.

5.

Comparison

of the

gold

and zinc

patterns

f the Karolus

monogram

coins from

Agen

and Dax with

those of

Charlemagne's

Class III and Charles

the Bald's first nd second

periods.

Seven

coins from

Agen

have been

analysed

forthis

study,

ive deniers and two

obols,

the deniers have the

following legends

on the reverse: AGIN CI VITAS



13/75

CHARLEMAGNE,

HARLESHEBALDAND HE


237

(Prou

791,

PL

15,

1),

AGINO

(Prou

792,

Pl.

15,

2),

and AGINNO

(Prou

793-794,

PL

15,

3-4),

and MdP

88,

PL

15,

5).

The

type

of the obols

(Prou

795,

PL

15,

6

and BnF 1983-44, Pl. 15, 7) corresponds o the only one described,with a

large

monogram

n the obverse and the

mint

name

spelled

AGINNO around a cross on

thereverse.

The

silver

ontent

etermined or ll of thecoins is

veryhigh, anging

rom 2%

to

96%

(Figure4).

These values are consistentwith heones obtainedfor

Charlemagne's

Class

III

samples.

If we

also consider

he

pattern

f the trace

elements,

he

dating

f

the

monogram

oins from

Agen

in

our

corpus

becomes

quite

certain: heir inc

and

gold

contentmakes them

part

of

ellipse

A

shown

n

Figure

5 which ncludes most

of

the coins of

Charlemagne's

Class III.

Comparisonof thecomposition f the hoards withbothmajorand trace elements

of the

analytical

data,

undoubtedly

hows the Karolus

monogram

oins

bearing

the

name of

Agen,

whatever heir

egend,

date to the

reign

of

Charlemagne.

Dax

(Figs

4

and

5)

The

attributionf thecoins discussed

n

this ection hould

be treatedwith aution

as the

Latin name in the

legend

has not been identified s

Dax with

any certainty.

MG attributesheKarolus

monogram

enierswith he

egend

CIAGVIS

(MG 180)

to

Charlemagne

nd those

with

other

pellings39

o Charles theBald

(MG 1090-1094).

Both MEC and

Depeyrot

make the same distinction.40afaurie

merely

mentions

Dax as a

city

where

monogram oinage

was minted

y

Charles theBald, but fails to

describe hese wo

varieties.41

nly

one

monogram

oin from

ax

comes

from

hoard,

the

Borne

hoard,

whose content hows

without doubt hat t s from

harlemagne's

reign.42 onsequently,

onsidering

he available

data,

all the varietiesof

monogram

deniers

fromDax mustbe considered

s

Charlemagne's

ssues. The same

applies

to

the

only

variety

f obol

reported, earing

a

large monogram illing

he field

on the

obverse,

nd

the

egend

AGVIS VRBS around

cross on thereverse.43

Two deniers

fromDax have been

analysed

in this

study.

Their reverse

egends

are AGVI2 VRBS

(Prou

798,

PL

15,

8)

and AGVI2+

Cl

(Prou

799,

PL

15,

9).

Their

silvercontent s 95.2% and 91.5% respectivelyFigure4). Regarding heir ineness

and the

gold

and zinc content

Figure

5),

the same observations an be

made as for

Agen:

the silver contents

recludes

an attribution

o

Charles

the Bald's first

eriod,

and the trace element

patterns

make

an attributiono

Charlemagne

more

ikely

than

to Charles the Bald's second

period.

39

MGVIS+CIVE, GVIS+CI,

IAQVIS, IXIAGVIS,

GVISVRBS.

40

eeMEC

,

p.

232.

Depeyrot

88 o

Charlemagne,

nd

epeyrot

95-6

the

escription

f he atter

including

everal arieties

f he

pelling

f he

mint ame

to

Charles

he ald.

Thedifferentiation

s

not

ery

lear

n

MEC,

but

he uthors

entionax

amongst

he ities

hosemints

truck

onogram

coins

uring

harles

he ald's

eign.

41Lafaurie,L'article Ide 'Edit ePitres',. 116.

42

CARLVSREXFI,

IAGVIS.

A.D.

Verlinde,

Archeologi

ehekroniek

an

Overijssel

ver

989',

Overijsselse

istorische

ijdragen

05

1990),

p.

123-58

t

pp.

150-1.

43

Depeyrot

96B. he uthor

entions

hathis bol

s

single

indromude

France).

he

escription

of

he everses

mistaken,

s the

icture

f his ide

hows cross

n

ts entre

nd o

monogram.

here

s

nomention

f uch noboi

n

previous

eference

orks

ike

rou, ariel,

GorMEC

.



14/75

238

GUILLAUME

ARAH

Chelles

Karolus

monogram

oins from he

monastery

f Chelles are knownfrom ne

variety

only MG 856). The royaltitleon their bverse is CARLVS REX FR,and the mint

name around he

monogram

n the reverse s CALAMONA


15/75

CHARLEMAGNE,

HARLESHEBALDAND HEKAROWS ONOGRAMOINAGE.

239

early

enth

entury.48

t is clear therefore hat herewas no

minting

f the

monogram

coinage

in the name of

Beauvais

before

864.

Four Karolus

monogram

deniers of Beauvais from the BnF were

analysed

(Prou

255-258,

Pl.

15,

10-13)

and one obol

(BnF

255a,

PL

15,

16), plus

two deniers

from he MdP

(MdP

85-86,

PL

15,

14-15).

The obol is

particularlynteresting

s it

is thecoin from heAblaincourthoard.No

type

of coin from eauvais other

han

he

Karolus

monogram ype

can be attributedo Charles the Bald's

reign,

ither efore

or after

he Edict of Pitres.

The reverse

legends

of the

monogram

coins fromClermont are

quite

diverse.

The mint name can be

spelled

CLVROMANT, CLAROMIIIT,

or CLAROMINT.

The obverse

legend

is

generally

CARLVS REX. This

applies

to both deniers and

obols. Five deniers Prou 764-766, PL 15, 17-19 and Prou768-769, PL 15, 20-21)

and fourobols

(Prou

767,

PL

16, 22,

Prou

770-771,

PL

16, 23-24,

and

BnF

767a,

PL

16,

25)

have been

analysed.

The

composition

of

contemporary

oards makes it

clear

that he

monogram

oins fromClermontwere minted fter

64

(see

table

2).

The

presence

of such coins

in

hoards

concealed decades after he death of Charles

the Bald also

suggests

that ome of

them

were

minted

by

Charles the

Simple.

One

Karolus

monogram

oin from lermont

Prou

768,

PL

15,

20),

said

by

Prou to come

from he Cuerdale hoard

concealed

c.905,

is included

mong

thecoins

of our

corpus,

whose

origins

re unknown.

Some

temple ype

oins with

he

egend

HALIVERNA CIVES can be attributedo

the mint f Clermont

uring

he

years

840-64

(MG

1085-1

086).49

There were none

in

the collections

studied,

o

comparison

of the

composition

of Karolus

monogram

with

emple

ype

oins from lermont

as notbeen

possible.

Some other

emple

ype

coins,

with

Christiana

religio egend

on the

reverse nsteadof a mint

name,

as

well

as some obols

bearing

he name of

Aquitania,

are also

attributed

y Coupland

to the

city

of Clermont.50 ne coin of

the first

ariety

has been

analysed

Prou 1058)

but

none of the

second.

The

only

mention of a GDR coin

bearing

the name of Clermont s

given

by

Lafaurie: Le trésor

'Arras a fourni roisdeniers

de Clermont u

type

GDR'.51

The

reference ivento thepublicationof this hoard52 eveals threeKarolus monogram

deniers nstead

of GDR coins.

There s to our

knowledge

no othermention f GDR

coins from

Clermont,

o we must ssume

none were struck.

Only

one

type

of denier

of

Compiègne

is known.

The

king's

title

ppears

on the

obverseas

CARLVS REX

FR,

nd

themintname around

he

monogram

n thereverse

as CONPENDIV

PALAT

(MG

788).

There

is no hoard evidence

for his

type

so its

48

C.-A.

Daillan,

Le trésor e

Gravigny-Balizy

Essonne, rance):

enierst

oboles

d'époque

carolingienne',

ulletin

uCercle 'Etudes

umismatiques

e

Bruxelles

5,

3

2008).

49

or

he

ustification

f he ttribution

f

hese oins

oClermont

ee

Coupland,

harles

he ald

p.

130.

50Ibid., p.141-4.

51

.

Lafaurie,

Le

troisièmerésor

e

monnaies

arolingiennes

rouvé Cosne-Sur-Loire

Nievre)

LesAnnales

es

ays

Nivernais

0,

11

1975),

p.

51-6.

The

Arras oards named

Monchy-au-Bois'

by

Duplessy.

52

.

Gariel,

es

monnaies

oyales

e France

ous a race

arolingienne

Strasbourg

883-4),

ol.

l,p.

107.



16/75

240

GUILLAUMEARAH

date remainsuncertain. his would

mean,

following

he rule stated

previously,

hat

Charlemagne

has to be

preferred

o Charles the Bald or later rulers.

An

exception

must be made, though, n this case: Compiègne,like Beauvais and Noyon, all in

the

region

of

Picardy,

did not

produce any

coins between

Charlemagne's

reform f

793/4 nd

the

reign

f

Charles

the

Bald. A date ater han

840,

and

probably

han

64,

is thereforemore

ikely.Monogram

coins from

Compiègne

are

very

rare,

nd there

were no

specimens

available for

nalysis.

The Karolus

monogram ppears

on the obverse of the coins from he mintof

Limoges.

The

king's

title s written ARLVS REX R or CARLVS REX

FR,

and the

mintname LIMOVICAS CIVIS

(MG 1421-1422).

The

only

hoard in which

they

were found s the

Cuerdale hoard.

This

suggests

that

he issue

probably

started

n

864 at theearliest, nd possiblyafter he death of Charles the Bald in 877, or even

only

underCharles the

Simple

from 97 onwards.No

monogram imoges

obols are

known.One denierfrom he BnF

has been

analysed

BnF

776a,

PI.

16,

26).

The Karolus

monogram

coins of Nevers must also be

dated,

at the

earliest,

to

Charles the Bald. One

variety

of denier

(MG

1002-1003)

and three obols

(MG 1004-1006)

can be identified. n the

deniers,

he

king's

title s CARLVS

REX,

without

FR,

and the mintname is NEVERNIS

CIVITAI,

sometimesblundered.On

theobols the name of the

king

s the

same,

CARLVS

REX,

and the

mint

name on the

reverse can be NEVERNIS

CIVITAI,

NEVERNIS CVS or BEVEBniS CVin.53 The

monogram

deniers fromNevers are

only

known from he

Montrieux-en-Sologne

hoard,and the obols fromHuriel. This suggests theywere a minted t the end of

the

reign

of Charles the Bald at

the

earliest,

nd

possibly

ater n the ninth

entury.

Some GDR

coins are also known forNevers fromhoards

discovered at

Nourray,

Cosne-sur-Loire,

avigné-sous-le-Lude,

Montrieux-en-Sologne,

blaincourt,

Glisy

and

Cuerdale. This means that wo different

ypes

of

coins

might

ave been struck n

the

name of this

ity

ither

imultaneously

r

one after nother. he

presence

of both

Karolus

monogram

nd GDR coins from

Nevers

in

the

Montrieux-en-Sologne

oard

suggests

hat t the

very

east both

typesmight

have been in

circulation t the same

time. One

monogram

oin from his minthas been

analysed

Prou

595,

Pl.

16,

27),

and twoGDR issues for omparison Prou 593-594, Pl. 16, 28-29).

Noyon

also struck

monogram

eniers nd obols

during

he second

part

of Charles

the Bald's

reign.

The

typology

s the same for ll of

them: the

royal

title s

on the

obverse

(CARLVS

REX

FR)

and the

reversebears the

monogram

ncircled

by

the

legend

NOVIOIM,

with some

variation

n

the

spelling

of the mint

name. The

only

difference etween

deniers and obols is a tilde

which

separates

the

O

and the

I

on

the

deniers

NOVlO-IM),

but

not on the obols.

Monogram

deniersfrom

Noyon

are

knownfrom

hehoardsunearthed t

Ablaincourt nd

Glisy.

The latter lso contained

one obol from

he same mint.The

probable

date of

concealment f thesetwo

hoards

dates

these ssues to after 64 at the

earliest,

nd

possibly

after he death of

Charles

the Bald. One monogramdenier fromNoyon,which was not attributed o a mint

by

Prou,

has been

analysed

in

this

study Prou

952,

Pl.

16,

30).

Two GDR coins

(Prou

953-954,

Pl.

16,

31-32)

have also been

included for

omparison.

53

he

ranscript

f he ast

f hese hree

egendsppears

s weread tfrom

ariel

XIII,

4.Gariel

followed

y

MGread t

nBAERniSCNR



17/75

CHARLEMAGNE,

HARLESHEBALD

ND HE


241

The attribution nd

dating

of the Karolus

monogram

coins from he six mints

discussed

in

this section

is

quite

clear from he

composition

of the hoards.

They

were minted t the earliestbyCharles the Bald during he secondperiodof hisreign,

between

864 and 877. The evidence cited

by Coupland

makes this lear forBeauvais

and

Noyon

and the

ame could

probably

be said of

Compiègne.54 oupland

mentions

neither lermont r Nevers

but,

n

our

opinion,

hoardevidence makes tclear

that

no

monogram

oins were struck

herebefore 864. The metal

analyses

are nonetheless

interesting

s the results can be used to confirm rendsobserved for

other

firmly

dated

issues,

and as a basis for

dating problematic

oins which

will

be discussed

lateron.

The

monogram

oins of

Beauvais,

Limoges,

Nevers and

Noyon

all have a silver

content f more than90% (Figure 6). These analyses closelymatchthoseobtained

for

Charlemagne's

Class

III and Charles the Bald's GDR

coins,

and exclude the first

minting eriod

of Charles the Bald until

864. The hoard evidence makes

minting

during

Charlemagne's reign mpossible

and

very unlikely

for

the

period

840-64.

The coins should therefore

ndoubtedly

e dated to the second

part

of Charles the

Bald's

reign

r

to the

years

following

his death. Even

though nly

one

coin has been

analysed

for ach of themints f

Limoges,

Noyon

and

Nevers,

the even results rom

Beauvais

suggest veryhigh

standardisation

n silver

fineness,

imilar o thatwhich

can be observed

for he GDR

coinage

of the same

period.

The

metallurgical

esults

obtained for he

monogram

nd GDR

coins fromNevers and

Noyon,

the two

mints

striking

othtypesbetween 864 and 875, show strong imilarities n their ilver

content

Figure

6)

in

spite

of the small number f

coins.

The silverfineness f the

monogram

oins from lermont s

differentrom hat f

the otherfour

mints.Two of the nine coins

analysed

contain ess than90%

precious

metal

Prou

765:

87.1%;

Prou 766:

81.3%).

Could

they

be later

ssues?

If

so,

this

could

reveal a decrease

in

the fineness

noticeable

n

coins from

he

very

end of the

ninth

entury

nwards,

yet

one of the atestcoins

minted t

Clermont,

ound

n the

Cuerdale hoard

(Prou

768,

Pl.

15,

20),

contains more

than

90%

silver. The

high

degree

of finenessof threecoins

(Prou

769-771,

Pl.

16, 21, 23,

24),

which were

supposed byProu to be issues of CharlestheSimple,55s anotherndication hat his

hypothesis

s incorrect.

n alternative s

that

he

coins fromClermont

with lower

silver content

ould be the

earliest,

and that standardisation

o a

very high

level

of

purity

fter864 was

gradual.

The

only

coin attributed o

Clermont hatcan be

associated

withCharles

the Bald's first

eriod

of

minting

Prou 1058,)

contains

only

48.6%

silver.

This is

obviously very

different rom he few

'debased'

monogram

coins

that re discussed here.

The

analysis

of coins

from he

period

840-64,

withno

mint

name butattributedo Clermont

y Coupland,

would

help

our

understanding

f

Charles

the Bald's

minting olicy.

54

Coupland,

harleshe ald

p.

125.

55

Prou,

.

106,

eforehe

escription

fProu

69.The

uthor entions

he

style'

f

he oin o

justify

he

minting

f

hese

hreeoins fter

he eath

fCharles

he

Bald,

nd

possibly

nthe

arly

tenth

entury

nder

harleshe

imple.

he

mis-spelling

f

he

ing's

itle n he bverse

f

Prou 69

(CARLVDX,

nstead

f

CARLVSREX),

nd he rude

ngraving

fProu

70 nd

Prou

71,

specially

for

he

monogram

n he everse

f

he

71,

might

e

the lues

hat

uggested

his oProu.



18/75

242

GUILLAUMEARAH

The available data does not seem to

yield

a reliable

explanation

for the wide

variation observed in the silver content

among

the Karolus

monogram

coins

fromClermont.A largeranalytical investigation f the coins from he otherfive

mintsconsidered here would shed more

light

on this

question.

t

might

how,

for

example,

that hedifference bserved forClermont eflects differentiationetween

Neustria/Burgundy

nd

Aquitaine,

with

Beauvais,

Nevers and

Noyon

on one

side,

and

Clermont

nd

Limoges

on the other.

Monogram

coins from

Limoges,

Nevers

and

Noyon

are

very

scarce,

so it seems a near

impossible

task to

gather

sufficient

number f such issues to obtain a

representativeample.

FIG.

6.

Comparison

of the fineness of the Karolus

monogram

coins from

Beauvais, Clermont,

imoges,

Nevers and

Noyon,

withthat f the GDR coins

from Nevers

and

Noyon,

and

the

issues from

Charlemagne's

Class Illand

Charles the Bald's first nd second

periods.

Examination fthe inc andgoldcontent fdateablecoins canhelp nthe ttribution

of coins of uncertain ate. As a

rule,

the

monogram

oins

analysed

from he mints

of

Beauvais,

Clermont,

imoges,

Nevers and

Noyon

are characterised

y relatively

high gold

levels,

around

1%

in most cases.

Figure

7 shows that hese trace lements

in

the

monogram

coins

are similar to those contained n most of the GDR coins

from ther

mints,

which fall nto

ellipse

D.

Only

one coin fromBeauvais

(Prou

255,

Pl.

15,

10)

has a much lower

gold

content

193 ppm).

Even

though

he

point

that

represents

his coin falls within

llipse

A

(Charlemagne

Class

III)

on

Figure

7,

its

position

can also be

interpreted

s a trace element

pattern

ssociated withthe GDR

coins of

ellipse

C.

The two trace elements re also significant or he coins of ClermontFigure7).

Whereas the

gold

content s similarfor

all

the nine coins

analysed,

the zinc levels



19/75

CHARLEMAGNE,

HARLES

HEBALD ND HE


243

range

from 52

ppm

to 7177

ppm.

Clermont ssues contain ome of the

highest

inc

levels of

all

the

monogram

oins,

close to those of the ssues of Charles the Bald's

first eriod (ellipse B). The two coins with thehighest inc content re also those

mentioned bove as

having

a lower silver

fineness.

This

could

be a

clue

for the

dating

f the

monogram

oins fromClermont: he

higher

he

zinc

content

he

earlier

the

minting.

The similar

position

of the Karolus

monogram

nd GDR coins fromNevers and

Noyon

in

Figure

7

also confirms

hat heir

minting eriods

was

similar,

erhaps

ven

identical.

FIG.

7.

Comparison

of the

gold

and zinc

patterns

f the Karolus

monogram

coins

from

Beauvais, Clermont,

imoges,

Nevers and

Noyon,

with

thatof

the

GDR coins fromNevers and

Noyon,

and the ssues from

Charlemagne's

Class

III and Charles the Bald's first ndsecondperiods.

The trends

n

the

analytical

results of the

monogram

coins

from

Beauvais,

Clermont,

imoges,

Nevers

and

Noyon

confirm he differentiationf the

types

of

coins inferred romnumismatic nd hoard evidence and the hoards. The

following

paragraphs

llustrate

ow

this

pproach

can be used for he most

problematic

mints:

the

Palace, Sens,

Bourges,

Toulouse

and

Melle.

The Palace

(Figs

8 and

9)

The

Palace was

an

important

int

or he ssue ofKarolusmonogram oinsduring

the

reign

of

Charles the Bald.

It

differs rommost othermints

n

that

t

does not

bear



20/75

244

GUILLAUMEARAH

the

name

of a

city

nd its ocation s

uncertain,

hough

Lafaurie

suggested

Senlis.56

One cannoteven be certain

hat ll

the coins ascribed

to

Charles

the

Bald,

withthe

Palace mintname,have a commonorigin.

There are two main varietiesof

monogram

oins from he Palace. On the first

the

king's

title

ppears

on the obverse as CAROLVS

REX,

nd the

mint

name on the

reverse s

PALATINA MONETA

(MG 625-626).

The

finalA of the

reverse

egend

is sometimes mitted. here s

a

pellet

n

each

quarter

f

the

obverse cross. Deniers

of the

second

variety

MG 622-624)

also have the

egend

CAROLVS REX on their

obverse;

n

mostbutnot all

cases,

the

finalX

is

elongated.

There

are no

pellets

n

the

quarters

f thecross. The

monogram

n thereverse s not

always correctly ngraved:

the

general shape

seems to be

reversed,

ut some letters re written

orrectly.

he

spelling of the mintname varies (PALATINA MONE, PALATINA MONEA,

PALATINA MONEAT. .

).

The N is

frequently

eversed nd can be written s an

H,

or as II. One

type

of Karolus

monogram

bol can be attributedo the Palace. It has

the

egends

CAROLVS REX EQ and PALATINA MOE.57

Twelve

monogram

eniers f thePalace have been

analysed

n this

tudy.

ive of

them

belong

to the first

ariety Prou

12-15,

PL

16,

33-36 and MdP

82,

PL

16,

37),

and seven to the econd.

Among

the

atter,

wo have a reversed

monogram

Prou

16-

17,

PL

16,

38-39),

whereas

t

appears correctly

n

the three thers

Prou

18-19,

PL

16,

40-41,

BnF

18a,

PL

17,

42 and MdP

83-84,

PL

17,

43-^4).

Another

ype

was minted

during

he

reign

of Charles the Bald

in

the name of the

Palace, a GDR issue,minted fter 64. Five deniers Prou20-22, PL 17, 45-47 and

Prou

24-25,

PL

17,

48-49)

and one obol

(Prou

23,

PL

17,

50

)

of theGDR

type

have

been

analysed

and includedfor

omparison

with heKarolus

monogram

ssues.

The

analysis

of the

monogram

oins from he Palace

yielded unexpected

results.

The difference

n

design

-

with

and without he four

pellets

in

each

quarter

f

the

obverse ross correlateswith he

purity

n silver

Figure

8).

All

coins without

ellets

have a

veryhigh

silver

content,

anging

rom

2%

to

98%.

The denierswith

pellets,

on the other

hand,

are much

debased,

containing nly

40% to 70% of silver.One of

these coins has

an

unusuallyhigh

ead content

Prou

13,

Pl.

16, 34,

26.0%

Pb).

This

suggests hat erydifferent etalsweremelted o debase the ilverminted uring he

years

840-64. The division of the

monogram

oins from he Palace intotwo

groups

is

distinctly

isible on

Figure

8. The

high

silver standard hat eems to characterise

the

monogram

eniersfrom he Palace withno

pellets 94.9%

on

average)

matches

theresults btainedfor he GDR

coins,

from he same mint

93.1%)

as well as from

other

mints

94.1%).

This

suggests

hat he

purest

nes were minted

uring

Charles

the Bald's second

period

of issue

(864-77),

and the debased ones

during

he first

period

840-64).

Lafaurie,

L'article I de 'Edit e

Pitres',

.

116 ndn. 1.For

generalnderstanding

f

minting

inthe ame f he alace ee J.Lafaurie,Moneta alatina',rancia (1976), p.59-86.Lafaurieseemso believe hat oth fthe arietiesfCharles heBaldKarolus

monogram

oins

with

nd

withoutour

ellets

nthe

bverse)

ere

roduced

efore

64,

nd hat heGDR

type

asthe

nly

coinage

fterhis

Ibid.,

.

70).

57

MG

1

93 oCharles

he hild.

ee

Coupland,

harleshe

ald,

.

125 or he e-attributionf his

coin.



21/75

CHARLEMAGNE,

HARLES

HEBALD ND HEKAROWS ONOGRAMOINAGE.

245

FIG.

8.

Comparison

of the fineness f the Karolus

monogram

oins from he

Palace

with thatof the

GDR

coins from he

same

mint,

nd the issues from

Charlemagne's

Class

III

and Charles the Bald first nd second

periods.

The

picturegiven

by

the hoards is

informative,

hough ncomplete.Monogram

coins from he Palace withno

pellets

have been

reported

romhoards unearthed t

Nourray, ontaines-Bourgneuf,

halo-Saint-Mars,Montrieux-Courbanton,

onchy-

au-Bois and

Glisy.

These hoards can be

dated to after

64,

which concurs withthe

analytical

data. References o finds f Palace coins

with

four

pellets

n

the obverse

cross are harder

o

find.Haertle mentions ne such denier at

Glisy,

but

it

does not

appear

in

Duplessy's

description,

n

which he

highlights

nconsistenciesbetween

different

eports

f the hoard.58MG

mentions he

Compiègne

hoard as

containing

monogram

coins fromthe Palace with four

pellets though

this was not

reported

by

Haertle.59 uch

conflicting

nformationmeans

that t

is better o assume there

is no reliable hoard evidence forthisvariety.An attributiono Charles the Bald's

first

eriod

of

minting

rom840 to 864 is

the

most

ikely.

Lafaurie's remark bout

the

pellets

on one of these coins

supports

his

hypothesis:

Le

type

du

droit,

roix

58

Duplessy

54,

.

69. The

reportiven

y

Charvetf he

Glisy

oard,

ontaining

description

f

the

ightmonogram

oins

romhe alace nd

drawing

f

both

ides,

oes

not

how

uch

ellets.

J.

Charvet,

Monnaies écouvertes

Glisy',

BN

,

(1870),

p.

417-39,

t

p.

433,

no.54.A. Bazot

reports

our DRcoins romhe alace or he

Glisy

oard,

ut oKarolus

monogram

ssue. .

Bazot,

'Rapport

ur ne rouvailleemonnaies

Glisy',

ulletine a Société es

Antiquaires

ePicardie

X,

(1865-7),

p.

130-46.

59

reportf he ompiègneoardmentions,longsidemajorityfGDRcoins,wo eniers hichcanbe

supposed

o be Karolus

monogram

oins: nefrom

eauvais,

nd nefromhe alace. he

legends

n this econd ne re

given

AROLVS

REX

ndPALATINA ONETA. he

description

of he

ypes

s

not ufficient

o

dentify

ne

or

nother

ariety

f he

alace,

o

it

cannot e used s

evidence

fKarolus

monogramoinage

rom

hismint ith

our

ellets

n he bverse. . de

Roucy,

Bulletin

e a

Société

istorique

e

Compiègne

1884),

p.

39-41.



22/75

246

GUILLAUMEARAH

cantonnéede

quatrepoints,

été utilisé

usqu'en

864

pour

les deniers u

temple'.60

No Karolus

monogram

coins minted

during

the

reign

of Charles the

Bald,

either

before or after864, bear these fourpellets.61Although pellets or crescents have

been known to

appear

on some coins of

Charlemagne's

Class

III

(793/4-812), they

seem to be

primarily

feature f Louis the Pious' Christiana

religio

or

temple ype

(822-40),

which was continuedat some mintsunder Charles the Bald after840.

Among

this ruler's

temple type

ssues,

those most

likely

to have been mintedfirst

-

probably

s

early

as 840

-

have

pellets

in

the cross at the mintsof

Laon, Reims,

Chartres,Orléans, Sens,

Auxerre nd on the Christiana

religio

ssues. On the other

hand,

the four

pellets

do not

appear

on

any

obverse of the GDR

coins

minted

fter

864.

Surprisingly,

he

pelleted

and

unpelleted

Karolus

monogram

coins from he

Palace can therefore e dated to differenteriods.

Their

gold

and zinc

content,

s well as theirfineness

n

silver,

s also

helpful

n

this case.

First,

the concentrations n

gold

and zinc confirm he

existence

of

two

distinct

varieties,

with and withoutfour

pellets

in the

obverse

cross,

discernible

by

the difference n the

purity

f the

alloy (Figure

9).

The

figure learly

shows

that the

more debased coins have

very high

zinc levels

(ellipse B), confirming

their ttributiono Charles the Bald's first

eriod

of

minting

840-64).

This either

contradicts

oupland's suggestion

hat

herewas no

minting

f Karolus

monogram

coins outside

Aquitaine

before 86462 or the location of the Palace mint

must be

moved from enlis to somewhere n the

kingdom

f

Aquitaine.

The

gold

content f

bothvarieties s high.The unpelleted ariety as lower concentrations fzinc,which

are variable

enough

to allow their

artition

n

two

groups

Figure 9).

The coins with

the

higher

inc

contenthave a trace elements

pattern

imilar

to Charles the Bald's

GDR coins

(864-77)

as can be seen from

llipse

D in

Figure

9. Coins with much

lower

zinc content lso have less

gold

than he

first

roup,

nd

gather

n another

art

of the

graph

outside

ellipse D).

This

however s not sufficientvidence

to

propose

two distinct

roups mong

the

unpelleted

Karolus

monogram

oins from he

Palace,

as

they

cannot be correlatedwith a

numismaticdifference: or

example

Prou 16

and Prou

17,

Pl.

16, 38-39,

have

exactly

the same

numismatic

haracteristics,

ut

do notbelongtothe same group.The most ikelyexplanation s that heanalysisof

more

coins would

oin

these two

artificial

roups.

The

silver,

gold

and zinc content

therefore

merely

xclude an

attribution f the

unpelleted

Karolus

monogram

oins

fromthe Palace to

Charles the Bald's first

eriod

of

minting,

nd

confirms heir

dating

o the

years

after 64.

The

analysis

of the GDR

coins from hePalace

(Figure 9)

is

also informative. he

six coins

analysed

fall nto

wo different

ategories

depending

n their

old

content.

The

concentrationsre around

1% forProu

23-25,

PL

17, 50,

48,

49

(ellipse D),

and

below 100

ppm

forProu

20-22,

PL

17,

45-47

(ellipse C).

This

confirms he trend

observed

previously.Unfortunately,

lthough

here s some

variety

n

the

spelling

60

Lafaurie,

L'article I de 'Edit

e Pitres'

n.59),

n he

escription

f he oin

llustratedt

p.

114,

fig.

,

no.3.

61

ne r

wo

nly,

or ome are

oins,

ut ever our.

62

Coupland,

harles

he

ald,

.

125.



23/75

CHARLEMAGNE,

HARLESHEBALD ND HEKAROLUSONOGRAMOINAGE.

247

of the

legends

and the

shape

of the

monogram

on Palace GDR

coins,

there s no

correlation

with he differences bserved

n

the traceelements.Two

hypotheses

an

be proposed regarding heseresults: heymight eflect changeintheoriginofthe

silver used or

in the

metallurgical

reatment f the

ore,

or

they might

have been

minted

t two different

ocations,

using

silverfrom ifferentources.

FIG.

9.

Comparison

of the

gold

and zinc

patterns

f the Karolus

monogram

coins

from hePalace with hat f theGDR coins from he ame

mint,

he ssues

from

Charlemagne's

Class III and Charles the Bald's first nd second

periods.

Sens

(Figs

10 and

11)

It is not certain hatall Karolus

monogram

coins attributed

n

the

past

to Sens

were

really

minted here.The reverse

egend

SENNES

that

ppears

on some of them

is

problematic.Depeyrot

mentions hese deniers n the section on the

coinage

of

Sens

(Depeyrot

919);

MG,

on the otherhand stresses he

uncertainty

hat

urrounds

the location of the mint

(MG

94-95,

to Sennes

.

Coupland merely

states that

the

monogram

coins

bearing

the

legend

SENNES 'cannot be identifiedwith

any

certainty'.63

olckers links the coins withthis

egend

to an 'unbekannteMünzstätte

in der

Gegend

von Mainz'.64The reason for his s that ome coins of Mainz as well

as some withthe

egend

SENNES have a cross on two

steps

surrounded

y

the mint

name. Both Sens and Mainz were

episcopal

citiesat the

ime,

nd the

imilarity

n

the

types

f these coins

might

eflect heir

eligiousprominence

ather han

geographical

proximity.n addition, ne would expectcoins to have been minted t Sens during

the second

part

of the

reign

of

Charlemagne.

The

importance

f

the mint

of

Sens,

63

Coupland,harlemagne,.

221

64

Völckers,

.

185,XLII,

2.


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