charlemagne, charles the bald and the 'karolus' monogram coinage : a multi-disciplinary study /...
TRANSCRIPT
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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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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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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.
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8/17/2019 Charlemagne, Charles the Bald and the 'Karolus' monogram coinage : a multi-disciplinary study / Guillaume Sarah
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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.
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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.
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CHARLEMAGNE,
HARLES
HEBALD ND HE
KAROWS ONOGRAMOINAGE.
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.
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8/17/2019 Charlemagne, Charles the Bald and the 'Karolus' monogram coinage : a multi-disciplinary study / Guillaume Sarah
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.
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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.
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-
8/17/2019 Charlemagne, Charles the Bald and the 'Karolus' monogram coinage : a multi-disciplinary study / Guillaume Sarah
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
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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.
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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
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13/75
CHARLEMAGNE,
HARLESHEBALDAND HE
KAROWS ONOGRAMOINAGE.
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
.
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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
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8/17/2019 Charlemagne, Charles the Bald and the 'Karolus' monogram coinage : a multi-disciplinary study / Guillaume Sarah
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.
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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
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8/17/2019 Charlemagne, Charles the Bald and the 'Karolus' monogram coinage : a multi-disciplinary study / Guillaume Sarah
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CHARLEMAGNE,
HARLESHEBALD
ND HE
KAROWS ONOGRAMOINAGE.
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.
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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
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8/17/2019 Charlemagne, Charles the Bald and the 'Karolus' monogram coinage : a multi-disciplinary study / Guillaume Sarah
19/75
CHARLEMAGNE,
HARLES
HEBALD ND HE
KAROWS ONOGRAMOINAGE.
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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