Charlemagne, Charles The Bald and The 'Karolus' Monogram Coinage: A Multi-Disciplinary Study / Guillaume Sarah

The
Numismatic
Chronicle
VOLUME
170
LONDON
THE
ROYAL
NUMISMATIC
SOCIETY
2010
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Charlemagne,
Karolus
Charles
the
monogram
Bald
and
the
coinage.
A multi-disciplinary
study
GUILLAUME SARAH1
PLATES 15-21
'
Abstract:Coins struckin the name of 'Charles witha Karolus monogramcould
have been struckby several Carolingian rulers. The most likelyare Charlemagne
(768-814), Charles the Bald (840-77) and Charles the Simple (897-922). This
article combinesa surveyof thelatest numismaticresearchwithnew data on metal
compositionin order to determinethe likeliestattributionon a mintby mintbasis.
106 Karolus monogramcoins were analysed along withmanycontemporaryissues,
includingthe entirecollections of the Cabinet des Mdailles of the Bibliothque
nationale de France (BnF) and the Monnaie de Paris (MdP). Particularlyuseful
resultshave been obtainedfor themintsof thePalace, Bourges, Toulouse,Melle and
Sens.
Introduction:Karolus monogramcoins
One Of the main debates in Carolingian numismatics concerns the precise
identificationof coins struckin the name of 'Charles' and displaying a Karolus
monogram.Among Carolingian rulers,several Charles mighthave minted these
coins. The most likely candidates are the Frankishkings Charlemagne(768-814),
Charles theBald (840-77) and Charles the Simple (897-922).
This articleundertakesto presenta reliable, up-to-dateoverview of the research
and unsolved questions regardingthese Karolus monogramcoins, along with new
data on metal composition.This approach combines a studyof the place of issue,
with othernumismaticdata such as hoard compositionand coin alloy, in orderto
foreach variety.106 Karolus monogramcoins have
determinethelikeliestattribution
been analysedalong withmanycontemporaryissues, includingtheentirecollections
of the Cabinet des Mdailles of the Bibliothque nationalede France (BnF) and the
Monnaie de Paris (MdP).
1IRAMAT- Centre
45071
3D ruede la Frollerie,
Ernest
Babelon(CNRS),Universit
d'Orlans,
fortheir
andMichelDhnin
MarcBompaire
Theauthor
wouldliketothank
Cedex2, France.
Orlans
a preliminary
forreading
andcorrecting
ofthispaper,
andSimonCoupland
thepreparation
adviceduring
Directeur
andtoMichelAmandry,
former
DirecteurtoThierry
version.
Sarmant,
Adjoint
Manythanks
curator
deFrance,
andtoJean-Luc
nationale
oftheBibliothque
desMdailles
oftheCabinet
Desnier,
oftheir
collections.
thestudy
deParis,forallowing
attheMonnaie
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228
GUILLAUME
SARAH
Karolus monogramcoins
The Karolus monogramis formedby thefourlettersK, R, L and S arrangedaround
a central lozenge. The upper part of this lozenge - with or withouta chevronrepresentsthe A of the name KAROLVS, the lower part the V, and the lozenge
itselfis the O as a rhombus:O- This design was introducedby Charlemagneafter
the generalreformof weightsand measures in the winter793/4.2The monogramis
surroundedby a circularlegend on all the deniersand some of the obols. The other
obols bear only a large monogramfillingthefieldon theobverse. The opposite side
usually bears a cross in a circularlegend.
Althoughthe Karolus monogramis common to all these coins, there is some
variety.The monogramappears on thereverse3of themajorityof thedeniersbut on
a significant
proportionitis on theobverse.Theredoes notseem to be a geographical
correlationto this differencein design.4The shape of the monogramitselfvaries
fromone mintto another.It can also varyfromone coin to anotherin thesame mint.
Philip Griersonand Mark Blackburnnoticed thatthe K is generallyengravedas a
square shaped C on the Italian issues of Charlemagne.5This is also the case with
othermonogramissues of Charlemagne,and forsome coins of Charles theBald. The
L and the S may appear reversed,especially on Toulouse coins of Charles the Bald.
The centrallozenge in themonogrammaybe accompanied by a small v to turntheA
intoan A. Crescentsor pellets sometimesappear in thequartersof the centralcross
on theotherside. This cross can also be placed on steps(forMainz or Sens), replaced
by the letterP (Mainz), a 'Greek' monogram(with the legend ET LANG AC PAT
ROM), or surroundedby themintname (Notre-Dame of Laon).
Thereare variousways of spellingof theking'sname and title.It is usuallywritten
CARLVS REX FR on Charlemagne's issues, but is sometimesshortenedon Charles
the Bald's in several ways, the commonestof which was to omit the FR. It could
also be lengthenedto CAROLVS REX FRAN. Mint names are usually citynames,
sometimesfollowed by eitherCI VI or CI VITAS; this variationcan often,though
not always, be used to distinguishCharlemagne's issues fromthose of Charles the
Bald.6
Deniers constitutethe bulk of the Karolus monogramcoins, both in hoards and
collections,but obols are neverthelessessential to theunderstandingof Carolingian
2 This
whichwereprobably
struck
before
the
monogram
appearson a fewcoinsofCharlemagne
reform
of793/4,
likesomedeniers
from
Treviso
(Prou911= MG215).
3Theobverse
andreverse
havebeendefined
as follows:
thesidewiththeroyalnameandtitleis the
andthesidewiththemint
nameisthereverse.
TheKarolusmonogram,
which
canbeencircled
obverse,
ofthesetwolegends,
canconsequently
theobverse
oronthereverse.
byoneorother
appearoneither
Thiswaytodefine
thetwosidesis themostcommon
considered
the
one,though
Prou,forexample,
thedetermining
feature
toidentify
theobverse,
seeProu,p.v.
monogram
4The
ofthelegends
isgenerally
consistent
onallcoinsfrom
onemint.
ThecaseofMainzis
disposition
as somecoinsfrom
thismint
havethemonogram
ontheobverse,
others
onthereverse,
and
exceptional
thecentral
crossontheother
sideis sometimes
placedabovestepsandsometimes
replaced
bya P.
5MECI, 199.
p.
6MG,MECI and
usedthisdifferentiation
ofthelegend
as a chronological
criterion.
Depeyrot
They
attribute
theKarolusmonogram
coins,whosereverse
legends
mayendwithVRBS,CIVISorCI,from
themints
ofAgenandDax toCharles
theBald.Thisis nota reliable
basisfora classification
ofthe
coinsminted
seeCoupland,
CharlestheBald,p. 125.
bythesetworulers,

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 229
CHARLEMAGNE,
mintingpolicy. The studyof hoards and of the provenance of obols7 demonstrates
thatthewidespreadtheorythattheirstrikingbegan underLouis thePious is incorrect.
Two typesof obols were struck.On the firsta large monogramfillsthe fieldon the
obverse and the mintname appears, usually encirclinga cross, on the reverse.On
the second groupthe typeis similarto thatof common deniers,withthe king's title
arounda cross on theobverse and themonogramencircledby themintname on the
reverse.The hoards indicatethatthe coins of thefirstgroupcould have been minted
eitherby Charlemagneor by Charles the Bald, whereas those of the second group
can only be attributed
to the latter.
FIG. I. The Karolus monogram(representedwitha chevron

inside the centrallozenge to standforan A).
Karolus monogramcoins, whose attributionand datingis well establishedhave
not been consideredin thispaper. These include the deniersof Treviso dated to the
years before 793/48and the Gratia dei Rex coins mintedafterthe reformof 864.9
Some of the rare gold solidi of Charlemagne,with the monogram,have also been
omitted.
The state of currentresearch
of Karolus monogramcoins which began in
The debate regardingthe attribution
themiddle of thenineteenthcenturyhas been summarisedby a numberof authors.10
Louis de Coster pointed out that some monogram coins were minted by both
Charlemagne and Charles the Bald.11Hoard evidence suggests thatmintssuch as
Beauvais, Clermont,Limoges and Melle, may have continuedstrikingmonogram
7MECI, 206,
all theobolstheydiscusstoCharles
theBald.
MG andHaertle
attribute
p.
Depeyrot,
'Dorestad
intheninth
see S. Coupland,
Forthereattribution
ofsomeoftheseobolstoCharlemagne
JMP75, 1988,pp. 5-25 at p. 13,andCoupland,
thenumismatic
evidence',
Charlemagne,
century:
and
thereform
of793/4,forCharlemagne
obolsareevenknownbefore
p. 220. SomeCarolingian
de Melle',inA. Clairand
andD.
P. Schiesser,
'Les obolesunifaces
de Charlemagne
PippintheShort.
etarchologie
enPoitou-Charentes,
Hollard
2009);R.Weiller,
pp.49-62(Niort,
(eds.),Numismatique
vonTrier.
Die Mnzen
1,1,(Dsseldorf,
1988),p. 267.
8MECI,p. 199.
9Fora fuller
XI del'Edit
'L'article
ontheproblems
ofdating
thesecoinsseeS. Coupland,
discussion
dePitres
du25juin864',BSFNAO(1985),pp.713-14.
10See L. de Coster,
RBN22 1852,pp.369-403
'Restitution
de quelquesmonnaies
Charlemagne',
MEC
209.
atp. 371; Prou,pp.v-xii,andmorerecently I, p.
11De Coster,
coinsstudied
also
oftheKarolusmonogram
'Restitution',
pp.371-96.Thecomposition
whoseobverse
ofobols:thefewpublished
totheunderstanding
oftheminting
contributes
bydeCoster,
the
minted
Dorestad
andMelle),werecertainly
isfilled
during
(from
Agen,Bourges,
bythemonogram
391.
of
as
the
author
p.
suggests
reign Charlemagne,

230
GUILLAUME
SARAH
coins afterthedeathof CharlestheBald.12Some mighteven be attributable

to Charles
theSimple but,as MEC proposes,otherspre-and post-date his reign.13
This strongly
suggeststhatthemonogramtypemighthave been immobilisedby a few mintsafter
theend of thereignof Charles theBald.
Simon Coupland's article attributingsome Karolus monogram coins to
Charlemagneor Charles the Bald is the most up to date study,and his attributions
seem well justified.14
He rightlyrestoressome obols bearingthe monogramin the
obverse field to Charlemagne,15which is of importantfor our understandingof
mintingand circulationunderboth rulers.He also provides a general overview of
themintingof obols in Carolingiantimes.This workhas notbeen takenintoaccount
by Georges Depeyrot in the most recent synthesison Carolingian numismatics.
has since been uncoveredby our recentstudyof
Furthermore,
importantinformation
thecoinage of Melle betweenthereignsof Charlemagneand Charles theBald.16
Griersonand Blackburnhave pointedout thatcoins lackingthefinallettersFR of
the royal titleCARLVS REX can withoutdoubt be attributedto Charles the Bald.17
This is crucial to distinguishingthe issues, even thougha few coins attributableto
Charlemagnedo notbear thecompleteroyaltitleCARLVS REX FR.18
Studyof the compositionof datable hoards containingKarolus monogramcoins
and of the varietyof theirobverse and reverse legends has provided a firmbasis
fordatingdeniers and obols. Table 2 sets out the typologyof all coins considered
here, and the relevanthoard evidence. The coins have been sorted into distinct
chronologicalperiods: Charlemagne,Charles the Bald before864, and Charles the
Bald after864 to Charles the Simple forthe immobilisedissues.
Generalfeatures(Figs 2 and 3)
As Proupointedout,itis easierto identify
thecoins notattributable
to Charlemagne
than those which are.19The varietyof the mintnames appearing in the hoards of
Charlemagne'stimeare helpfulin thatrespect,especially whenthemintsin question
are certainto be outside the borders of his grandson's kingdom.Although some
mistakes remain even in the most recent studies,20most of the attributionsare
12See M.M.Archibald,
theevidence
ofthecoins'inJ.Graham-Campbell
'DatingCuerdale:
(ed),
treasure
theNorth
West.
TheCuerdale
hoardinitscontext
Museums
andGalleries
Viking
,National
from
onMerseyside
Occasional
5 (Liverpool,
Papers,
1992),pp.15-20.
13AECI, 246.
p.
14Coupland,
Charlemagne,
pp.218-20.
15Ibid.,p. 220.
16G. Sarah,
lmentaires
de monnaies
de Charlemagne
etde Louisle PieuxduCabinet
'Analyses
desMdailles
: le casdeMelle',inA. Clairand
andD. Hollard
etArchologie
en
(eds.),Numismatique
Poitou-Charentes
(Niort,
2009),pp.63-83.
"MECI, p. 232.
18For
a coinfrom
an unidentified
mintwiththereverse
example
legendTVN+NIS,onwhichthe
witha mistaken
king'stitleis spelledCARLVSREXF orCARLVSRE(Prou212; MG 1373-1374,
attribution
toCharles
theBald),is likely
tohavebeenminted
as onesuchdenier
has
byCharlemagne
beenunearthed
atDorestad,
seeVlckers
III,61,p. 143.
19Prou.d.viii.See alsoCouDland.
CharlestheBald.o. 126.
20This
doesnotseemtohavebeenspecifically
studied
andDepeyrot
forexample,
question
byHaertle
whoselatest
works
stillcontain
someoldfashioned
ideas.

THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
CHARLES
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 231
CHARLEMAGNE,
reliable. In these cases, furtherstudyis thereforeunnecessaryhere: this is the case
for monogramcoins fromthe Italian mints (Lucca, Milan, Pavia, Pisa, Treviso),
fromthe Spanish March (Ampurias, Barcelona, Gerona, Roda) and fromsouthern
France (Arles, Bziers, Lyon, Marseille, Narbonne,Vienne), forcoins frommostof
themintslocated on or northof theLoire and in Germany(Cologne, Dorestad,Laon,
Mainz, Orleans, Quentovic, Rouen, Saint-Denis,Tours,Trier),as well as forthose
fromunidentifiedor uncertainmints(EX METALLO NOVO, DVNNOS, TVNNIS,
ET LANG AC PAT ROM).
The Karolus monogramcoins discussed here are those struckin the threemints
thatundoubtedlystrucksuch coins underboth Charlemagneand Charles the Bald
(Bourges, Toulouse and Melle); in Sens, which we argue also mintedthemduring
both reigns; in Agen, Chelles and Dax, whose attributionshave been rectified
recently;and finallyfromthe mintswhich only struckthese coins underCharles the
Bald (Beauvais, Clermont,Compigne, Limoges, Nevers,Noyon, Palace).
In additionto standardnumismaticmethods,thisstudyhas made use of therecent
metallurgicalanalysis of the BnF's entirecollection of Carolingian coins minted
priorto the Edict of Pitresof 864. Approximatelyseven hundredcoins have been
analysed by a new methodcalled LA-ICP-MS.21 The composition,silverfinenessas
well as specifictraceelementpatterns,of silvercoins of Pippinthe Short,Carloman,
Charlemagne,Louis the Pious, Pippin I and Pippin II of Aquitaine, Lothar and
Charles theBald has thusbeen determined.22
Figure 2 shows the silver fineness of the coins minted in the whole Frankish
at first,and in Francia occidentalisonly fromthereignof Charles theBald.
territory
For Pippin
The coins have been dated accordingto theirnumismaticcharacteristics.
the Short,the two main varieties:RP and RF and the few deniersthatdo not match
eitherhave been treatedas a single unit, as thereseems to be no certaintyabout
a typologicaltransitionin 754.23Charlemagne's issues have been sortedinto four
different
categories,and Louis thePious' intothree,in accordance withMEC.2*
Unliketheprecedingrulers,whose coin typeseach roughlycorrespondto a minting
typesof coins between 840 and 864,
period,Charles the Bald mintedfive different
name in the
according to MEC: those are cross/mintname in the field; bust/mint
Jean
Lafaurie
and
field; cross/gateway;monogram/cross;temple type.25
Coupland
21LaserAblation
and
See G. Sarah,B. Gratuze
Inductively
CoupledPlasmaMassSpectrometry.
oflaserablation
J.-N.Barrandon,
(LAinductively
coupledplasmamassspectrometry
'Application
22/9
Atomic
ofancient
silver
coins',Journal
ofAnalytical
Spectrometry
ICP-MS)fortheinvestigation
The
LA-ICPmethod
to
ancient
silver
coins.
the
of
this
1
for
the
details
of
163-7,
application
(2007),pp.
ofsilver
inorder
toavoidtheproblem
hasbeenespecially
MS protocol
usedfortheanalysis
developed
A. RovelliandC. Guerrot,
M. McCormick,
surface
enrichment.
See Ibid,andG. Sarah,M. Bompaire,
de Charlemagne
et Louisle Pieuxdu CabinetdesMdailles:
de monnaies
lmentaires
'Analyses
RN164(2008),pp.355-406atpp.361-4.
etVenise',
L'italiecarolingienne
22Thefirst
from
LouisthePiousandLothar
oncoinsofCharlemagne,
Carolingian
partofthisstudy
364-93.
Sarah
et
and
Venice
has
been
lmentaires',
al.,
pp.
'Analyses
recently
published.
Italy
23Forthispossible
auxCarolingiens.
: Des Mrovingiens
transition
seeJ.Lafaurie,
'Numismatique
Lesmonnaies
de Ppinle Bref,Francia2 (1974),pp.26-48atp. 37.
24MECI, pp.205-17.
25Ibid.,pp.231-2.

232
GUILLAUME
SARAH
have bothproposed a chronologyforthesetypes,26

whichwill notbe discussed here,
as the aim is only to create a generalchronologicalclassificationassigningcoins to
theperiod beforeor aftertheEdict of Pitresof 864. The fourvarietiesof coins listed
above forthe years 840-64, exceptingthe monogramgroup, have thereforebeen
treatedas a single groupcorrespondingto 'Charles the Bald firstperiod'.
The situationis much simplerafterthe introductionof the novi denarii in 864.
One main type can be identified,the 'GDR type', bearing the Karolus monogram
and the legend GRATIA DEI REX27and which we call here 'Charles the Bald
second period'. Karolus monogramissues were mintedduringone or both periods
dependingon themint.They have thereforebeen separated,and theircharacteristics
scrutinisedin orderto date themmore accurately.The imperialcoins of Charles the
Bald, mintedfrom876 at some mints,and probablyafterhis death in 877, have not
been considered.28
FIG. 2. Evolutionof thesilverfinenessof theCarolingiancoins fromPippinthe

Shortto Charles theBald (75 1-875). The average calculated fromall thevalues
consideredappears as well as therelativestandarddeviation.
Three main mintingperiods are considered here for the issue of the Karolus
monogramcoins: Charlemagne793/4-812 (Class III), Charles theBald 840-64 (first
period), and Charles the Bald 864-77 (second period). For some mints,monogram
coins mayhave been mintedafter877 butnotusingtheimperialtitlewill be discussed
later.
The studyof thesilverfinenessand of thezinc and gold contentproveda valuable
the coins eitherto Charlemagne or Charles the Bald. Figure 2
help in attributing
clearlyshows thatCharlemagne'smonogramcoins (Class III) as well as Charles the
Bald's second period issues are of verypure silver.The average silver finenessof
26J.Lafaurie,
XI del'ditdePitres
'L'article
du25juin864',inT.Fischer
andP.Ilisch(eds),Lagom.
Peter
zum
60.
am20.November
Festschrift
fur
Berghaus
Geburtstag
(Mnster,
1981),pp. 113-17at
CharlestheBald, pp.141-2.
pp.116-17;Coupland,
27This
inmostofthecasesas GRATIAD"l REX.
legend
appears
28ForthesecoinsseeMEC1, 233-5.
pp.

MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 233
CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
CHARLEMAGNE,
thesetwogroupsis 92.7% fortheoldercoins and 94.2% forthelatercoins. Moreover,
the relativestandarddeviation,around 2.3% in both cases, shows a good standard
of control.A significantdifferencein the silver contentcan, on the otherhand, be
observed in coins fromCharles the Bald's firstperiod (840-64). Figure 2 clearly
shows thattheirfinenessis much lower (66.7% on average), and the scatteringof
the values is very wide (15.9% relativestandarddeviation). As thereis no reason
to believe thatsome cities issuing monogramcoins duringCharles the Bald's reign
maintaineda highersilver standardthan others,it can safely be assumed thatthe
level of silver finenessis sufficientto distinguishsimilarcoins mintedbeforeand
after864. The resultsobtained previouslyby Michael Metcalf and J.P.Northover
concurwithours and withthisinterpretation.29
The silvercontentcannot,however,
be used to separate Charlemagne's monogramcoins fromCharles the Bald's post
864 issues, as thevalues forthesetwo groupsare too similar.
Hoard evidence suggeststhatsome Karolus monogramcoins were mintedafter
thedeath of Charles the Bald, mainlyin Aquitaine (Clermont,Limoges, Melle) but
also eleswhere(Beauvais, Palace). It is likelythatthereare such coins in ourcorpus,
in particularone fromthe Cuerdale hoard (Prou 768 fromClermont,PL 15, 20).
Like all theothersmintedafter864 it has a veryhigh silvercontent.Consequently,
no attempthas been made to separatethe immobilisedcoins mintedafter877 from
theothermonogramcoins on thebasis of theircomposition.It can onlybe said that
the immobilisedcoins mintedafter877 are of high puritysilver,like othersdating
fromthe years 864-77. These coins are discussed more extensivelyin the section
dedicatedto each mint.
The studyof trace elements in coins dating fromthe threemintingperiods of
Karolus monogramcoins can also be used as a criterionto distinguishissues thatare
similarfroma numismaticpointof view butthatmighthave been struckduringany
one of thethreeperiods.Two elementsare of particularinterest:zinc and gold. Gold
can be used as a markerof silver,and the studyof the percentageof this element
could help distinguishcoins made of preciousmetalfromdifferent
provenances.The
use of zinc as a distinguishing
elementis also possible.
The mostobvious distinctionshownby Figure3 concernsthecoins of Charles the
Bald's firstperiod (840-64), groupedin ellipse B: theirzinc contentis much higher
thanthatof theothers.The studyof theZn/(Zn+Cu) ratio(see thevalues in Table 2)
clearlyshows thatbrass ratherthanpure copper was added to the silverto devalue
the alloy. Only fourcoins fromthis group have lower zinc concentrationand are
outsideellipse B. The years 840-64 can therefore
be characterisedas mintingsilver
debased withbrass,witha zinc contentrangingfromabout 1% to 10%.
29See D.M. Metcalf
andJ.P.Northover,
thetimeofOffaandCharlemagne
'Coinagealloysfrom
toC.864,'NC 149(1989),pp. 101-20atpp. 114-15and118-19;D.M. Metcalf
andJ.P.Northover,
andViking
coinsfrom
theCuerdale
hoard:an interpretation
andcomparison
oftheir
'Carolingian
metalcontents',
NC 148(1988),pp.97-116atpp. 100-6and110-11.MEC I interprets
thereform
in
oftheEdictofPtres
as an attempt
'to ridthecirculating
medium
[...] ofthemanycounterfeits
circulation'
theanalyses
Metcalf
andNorthover's
(MECI, p. 233).Inouropinion
suggestion
support
thatthedebasedcoinscirculating
before
864werenotforgeries,
andViking
coinsfrom
'Carolingian
theCuerdale
100.
hoard',
p.

234
GUILLAUME
SARAH
FIG. 3. Gold contentversusthezinc contentfortheKarolus monogramcoins of

Charlemagne's Class III, and Charles the Bald's firstand second periods. Log
scale X-axis and Y-axis.
The coins of Charlemagne's Class III and Charles the Bald's GDR type minted
after864 have a much lower zinc content,withconcentrationsalmostalways below
1000 ppm. Gold seems to be the distinguishingelementbetweenthese two groups.
The gold levels forthecoins of Charlemagne'sClass III generallyrangefromabout
100 ppm to 4000 ppm (ellipse A, Figure 3), whereas the values forthe GDR coins
are eitherhigheror lower (ellipses C and D). Therealso appears to be a linkbetween
as an evolutionin thezinc contentafter
groupsB and D, which could be interpreted
of theGDR typein 864. The purification
of thedebased silverstruck
theintroduction
untilthisyear may not have been immediatelyeffective,and tracesof thehighzinc
levels fromthemetalused duringtheyears 840-64 mighthave remainedin thefirst
coins of the next period. If thatis the case, the fiveGDR coins of ellipse C whose
source
gold and zinc levels are very low mighthave been mintedusing a different
of silver. Some caution must be exercised in this approach, however,as the three
ellipses appear to overlap. Consequently,the datingof the coins thatare located at
the interfaceof ellipses C and D should be seen as uncertainunless supportedby
hoard evidence.
Agen (Figs 4 and 5)
Deniers and obols of Karolus monogramtypeare known forAgen. The spelling
of the mintname on the reverseof the deniersvaries: AGINO, AGINNO, AGINO

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 235
CHARLEMAGNE,
CI VITAS or AGIN CIVITAS. The king's titleis always CARLVS REX FR.30Only
one typeexists forthe obols, withthe monogramfillingthe obverse witha small v
in the lozenge to formthe A of Karolus; the name of the city is writtenAG1NNO
arounda centralcross on thereverse.
denierswiththe mintwrittenAGINO and
MG, followedby Depeyrot,attributed
AGINNO to Charlemagne,and theones withAGINO CIVITAS or AGIN CIVITAS
to Charles theBald. They have attributed
all of the obols to the latter,regardlessof
thepresencein themintname ofCl VI or CIVITAS.31LafauriewritesthatAgen might
have mintedmonogramcoins underCharles the Bald,32but does not mentionany
hoardthatwouldjustifythis.MEC agrees withMG and Depeyrotas faras theobols
are concerned,but is less definiteabout thedeniers.The authorswritethatthe short
versionofthecity'sname,Aginno,'was expandedtoAgincivitunderCharlemagne',33
which appears to indicatethatthe authorsattributeall of the monogramcoins from
thiscityto thefirstCarolingianemperor.The name of Agen, however,also appears
in thesectiondedicatedto Charles theBald's monogramcoins.34In MEC thedeniers
735 and 736, which read CARLVS REX FR on the obverse and AGINNO around
themonogramon thereverse,are includedin Charlemagne's793/4-812 issues. The
descriptionof the second one adds 'Possibly Charles the Bald'. The legends on the
coins are exactlythesame, exceptthatREX is spelled RX on 735. As has been shown
evidence to separatethe
by Coupland, and also discussed above, thisis notsufficient
monogramcoins of Charlemagneand Charles theBald.
The attribution
of boththedenierswiththelegendendingCIVITAS and theobols
of Agen to Charles the Bald does not seem justified.Coupland has pointedout that
coins withthe legend AGIN CIVITAS should be attributed
to Charlemagne,witha
numberof convincingarguments.Firstly,such deniershave been reportedfromthe
Biebrichhoard,which was undoubtedlyconcealed beforethe death of thisruleror
This hoardalso containeda coin fromAgen withthelegendAGINNO,
shortlyafter.35
which indicatesthattheywere struckduringthe same period. Finally,the mintof
There is no reason to
Agen is onlyknownto have been active underCharlemagne.36
believe thatany coin was mintedtherein the timeof Charles the Bald, but it must
be noted thatthe hoard evidence only relatesto deniers(fourat Dorestad,37two at
and thatno obol is reported.
Biebrich,one at Ibersheim)38
30Lafaurie
mentions
thecitiesforwhichsomemonogram
coinsbeara nameandtitle
Agenamongst
CAROLVSREX(orCARLVSREX),without
FRattheend.No reference
couldbefound
fora coinfrom
XI del'EditdePitres',
'L'article
Lafaurie,
Agenwithsucha legend.
p. 116.
31Deniers
MG 177-179toCharlemagne,
anddeniers
MG 1087-1088
andobolMG 1089toCharles
theBald;Depeyrot
1-3forthedeniers,
andDepeyrot
4 fortheobol.
32Lafaurie,
'L'article
p. 116.
MECI,p. 198.
"Ibid.,p. 232.
35Coupland,
CharlestheBald,pp.125-6.SeealsoVlckers,
pp.182-6.
36Coupland,
Charlemagne,
p. 219.
37Thesefourdeniers
from
finds
as suggested
Agenarenotstray
byVlckers
(III, 18,p. 139),but
from
thereignofCharlemagne,
as Coupland
hasstated.
See S. Coupland,
belongto a hoarddating
in theninth
'Dorestad
faisant
suiteauxprcdentes
century',
p. 9, andL. de Coster,
'Explications
notices
surl'attribution
Charlemagne
de quelquestypesmontaires',
RBN3 1 (1857),pp.30-54at
p. 34.
38FortheBiebrich
andIbersheim
hoards
seeVlckers
pp.182-6and186-7.

236
GUILLAUME
SARAH
FIG. 4. Comparisonof thefinenessof theKarolus monogramcoins fromAgen

and Dax withthatof the issues fromCharlemagne'sClass III and Charles the
Bald's firstand second periods.
FIG. 5. Comparison of the gold and zinc patternsof the Karolus monogram
coins fromAgen and Dax withthose of Charlemagne's Class III and Charles
theBald's firstand second periods.
Seven coins fromAgen have been analysed forthis study,five deniersand two
obols, the deniers have the following legends on the reverse: AGIN CI VITAS

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 237
CHARLEMAGNE,
(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) correspondsto the only one described,with a large
monogramon the obverse and the mintname spelled AGINNO around a cross on
thereverse.
The silvercontentdeterminedforall ofthecoins is veryhigh,rangingfrom92% to
96% (Figure4). These values are consistentwiththeones obtainedforCharlemagne's
Class III samples. If we also considerthepatternof thetraceelements,thedatingof
the monogramcoins fromAgen in our corpus becomes quite certain:theirzinc and
gold contentmakes thempartof ellipse A shown in Figure 5 which includesmostof
thecoins of Charlemagne'sClass III.
Comparisonof thecompositionof thehoards withbothmajor and traceelements
of the analyticaldata, undoubtedlyshows theKarolus monogramcoins bearingthe
name of Agen, whatevertheirlegend,date to thereignof Charlemagne.
Dax (Figs 4 and 5)
of thecoins discussed in thissectionshouldbe treatedwithcaution
The attribution
as the Latin name in the legend has not been identifiedas Dax with any certainty.
MG attributes
theKarolus monogramdenierswiththelegendCIAGVIS (MG 180) to
and
thosewithotherspellings39to Charles theBald (MG 1090-1094).
Charlemagne
Lafaurie merely mentions
Both MEC and Depeyrot make the same distinction.40
Dax as a citywheremonogramcoinage was mintedby Charles theBald, but failsto
describethesetwovarieties.41
Onlyone monogramcoin fromDax comes froma hoard,
Borne
whose
content
shows withouta doubtthatit is fromCharlemagne's
the
hoard,
reign.42Consequently,consideringthe available data, all the varietiesof monogram
deniersfromDax mustbe consideredas Charlemagne's issues. The same applies to
the only varietyof obol reported,bearinga large monogramfillingthe fieldon the
obverse,and the legend AGVIS VRBS arounda cross on thereverse.43
Two deniers fromDax have been analysed in this study.Their reverse legends
are AGVI2 VRBS (Prou 798, PL 15, 8) and AGVI2+ Cl (Prou 799, PL 15, 9). Their
silvercontentis 95.2% and 91.5% respectively(Figure 4). Regardingtheirfineness
and the gold and zinc content(Figure 5), the same observationscan be made as for
to Charles the Bald's firstperiod,
Agen: the silvercontentsprecludes an attribution
to Charlemagnemore likelythan
and thetraceelementpatternsmake an attribution
to Charles theBald's second period.
39MGVIS+CIVE,
AGVISVRBS.
AGVIS+CI,DIAQVIS,CIXIAGVIS,
40SeeMECI,p.232.Depeyrot
ofthelatter
395-6- thedescription
andDepeyrot
388toCharlemagne,
is
The
differentiation
to
the
Bald.
mint
name
Charles
of
the
of
the
several
varieties
spelling
including
struck
thecitieswhosemints
mention
Dax amongst
notveryclearinMEC,buttheauthors
monogram
theBald'sreign.
Charles
coinsduring
41Lafaurie,
'L'article
p. 116.
42CARLVSREXFI,
over1989',
vanOverijssel
sehekroniek
CIAGVIS.A.D. Verlinde,
'Archeologi
105(1990),pp.123-58atpp.150-1.
historische
bijdragen
Overijsselse
43Depeyrot
Thedescription
find
from
Aude(France).
that
thisobolisa single
mentions
396B.Theauthor
is
There
andnomonogram.
ofthissideshowsa crossinitscentre
asthepicture
ismistaken,
ofthereverse
MGorMECI.
likeProu,
works
reference
ofsuchanoboiinprevious
nomention
Gariel,

238
SARAH
GUILLAUME
Chelles
Karolus monogramcoins fromthemonasteryof Chelles are knownfromone variety
only (MG 856). The royal titleon theirobverse is CARLVS REX FR, and the mint
name aroundthemonogramon thereverseis CALAMONA<A
Coupland, Depeyrot and Hans Vlckers attributethese coins to Charlemagne,44
whereas MG and MEC date themto the reign of Charles the Bald.45The presence
of a denier fromChelles at Dorestad suggests they should be probably be given
to Charlemagne. Coupland argues that Vlckers' list of coins found at Dorestad
includes a hoard of the earlyninthcentury.46
As alreadyindicatedwhen in doubt,an
attribution
to Charlemagneis more prudent.Consequentlywe will follow previous
authorsin attributing
themonogramcoins fromChelles to Charlemagne.
Neither the collection of Carolingian coins at the BnF nor the MdP contain
monogramdeniersfromChelles; so thestudyof thesilverfinenessand traceelement
patternscannotbe used to confirmthisattribution.
Beauvais, Clermont,Compigne,Limoges,Nevers,Noyon (Figs 6 and 7)
The Karolus monogramcoins fromBeauvais, Clermont,Compigne, Limoges,
Nevers and Noyon can be discussed as a groupas faras theirattribution
and dating
are concerned:as will be shown later,all these mintsproducedKarolus monogram
coins only after864. The Palace and Sens have been treated separately,as our
analyses suggest thatsome of theirissues of monogramcoins mightdate back to
before864. The cases of Bourges, Toulouse and Melle, forwhich some monogram
coins were mintedunderCharlemagneand some underCharles theBald bothbefore
and after864, are consideredseparately.
There are two known types of Beauvais deniers. The firstbears the royal
title CAROL VS REX FR (MG 784), and the second CAROL VS REX FRAN
(MG 1375-1376). The mintname on thereverseis eitherspelled BELGEVACVS CI
or BELGEVACVS CIVI. Some Karolus monogramdeniersof the firstvarietywere
found in the hoards fromCompigne and Glisy. The second varietywas present
at Ablaincourt,Glisy, Monchy-au-Bois and Cuerdale. All of these hoards were
concealed afterthe death of Charles the Bald, betweenthe 890s and the earlytenth
century,except thatof Compigne,which was probablyburiedc.880.
Some rare monogram obols also exist for Beauvais. Their obverse bears the
legend CAROLVS REX FR arounda cross,thereverseBELGEVACAS CI aroundthe
monogram(MG 784a). These obols are only known fromthe Ablaincourthoard,
probablyconcealed in the 880s,47and fromthe Gravigny-Balizyhoard,dated to the
44
311; Vlckers
,p.218;Depeyrot
Coupland,
Charlemagne
p. 140.SeealsoDe Coster,
'Explications',
p. 34.
45MG856;MECI mentions
Chellesamongst
themints
thatstruck
Karolusmonogram
coinsduring
thereign
ofCharles
theBald(p.232).
46Coupland,
'Dorestad
intheninth
century',
p. 9,n.20.
47Between
884and887according
toLafaurie.
See Lafaurie,
'L'article
p. 115,
n.8.

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 239
CHARLEMAGNE,
It is clear thereforethattherewas no mintingof themonogram
earlytenthcentury.48
coinage in thename of Beauvais before864.
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
fromthe MdP (MdP 85-86, PL 15, 14-15). The obol is particularlyinteresting
as it
is thecoin fromtheAblaincourthoard.No typeof coin fromBeauvais otherthanthe
Karolus monogramtypecan be attributedto Charles the Bald's reign,eitherbefore
or afterthe Edict of Pitres.
The reverse legends of the monogram coins fromClermontare quite diverse.
The mintname can be spelled CLVROMANT, CLAROMIIIT, or CLAROMINT.
The obverse legend is generallyCARLVS REX. This applies to both deniers and
obols. Five deniers(Prou 764-766, PL 15, 17-19 and Prou 768-769, 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 compositionof contemporaryhoards makes it
clear thatthe monogramcoins fromClermontwere mintedafter864 (see table 2).
The presence of such coins in hoards concealed decades afterthe death of Charles
the Bald also suggeststhatsome of themwere mintedby Charles the Simple. One
Karolus monogramcoin fromClermont(Prou 768, PL 15, 20), said by Prou to come
fromtheCuerdale hoardconcealed c.905, is includedamong thecoins of our corpus,
whose originsare unknown.
to
Some templetypecoins withthe legend HALIVERNA CIVES can be attributed
themintof Clermontduringtheyears 840-64 (MG 1085-1 086).49There were none
in the collections studied,so comparisonof the compositionof Karolus monogram
withtempletypecoins fromClermonthas notbeen possible. Some othertempletype
coins,witha Christianareligiolegend on thereverseinsteadof a mintname,as well
as some obols bearingthename of Aquitania, are also attributed
by Coupland to the
the
first
has
been
One coin of
variety
analysed (Prou 1058) but
cityof Clermont.50
none of the second.
The only mentionof a GDR coin bearing the name of Clermontis given by
Lafaurie: 'Le trsord'Arras a fournitroisdeniersde Clermontau typeGDR'.51 The
referencegiven to the publicationof this hoard52reveals threeKarolus monogram
deniersinsteadof GDR coins. There is to our knowledgeno othermentionof GDR
coins fromClermont,so we mustassume none were struck.
Only one typeof denierof Compigne is known.The king's titleappears on the
obverseas CARLVS REX FR,and themintname aroundthemonogramon thereverse
as CONPENDIV PALAT (MG 788). There is no hoard evidence forthis typeso its
48C.-A. Daillan,'Le trsor
de Gravigny-Balizy
(Essonne,France):denierset obolesd'poque
deBruxelles
duCercled'Etudes
Bulletin
45,3 (2008).
Numismatiques
carolingienne',
49Forthejustification
CharlestheBald,
seeCoupland,
ofthesecoinstoClermont
oftheattribution
p. 130.
50Ibid.,pp.141-4.
51J.Lafaurie,
trouv
Cosne-Sur-Loire
de monnaies
trsor
'Le troisime
(Nievre),
carolingiennes
despaysNivernais
LesAnnales
10,11(1975),pp.51-6.TheArrashoardis named'Monchy-au-Bois'
byDuplessy.
52E. Gariel,
deFrancesousla racecarolingienne
Les monnaies
, (Strasbourg
1883-4),vol.
royales
l,p. 107.

240
GUILLAUME
SARAH
date remainsuncertain.This would mean, followingthe rule statedpreviously,that

Charlemagnehas to be preferredto Charles the Bald or laterrulers.An exception
must be made, though,in this case: Compigne, like Beauvais and Noyon, all in
the regionof Picardy,did not produce any coins between Charlemagne'sreformof
793/4and thereignof Charles theBald. A date laterthan840, and probablythan864,
is thereforemore likely.Monogram coins fromCompigne are veryrare,and there
were no specimensavailable foranalysis.
The Karolus monogramappears on the obverse of the coins fromthe mintof
Limoges. The king's titleis writtenCARLVS REX R or CARLVS REX FR, and the
mintname LIMOVICAS CIVIS (MG 1421-1422). The only hoard in which they
were found is the Cuerdale hoard. This suggests thatthe issue probably startedin
864 at the earliest,and possibly afterthe death of Charles the Bald in 877, or even
onlyunderCharles the Simple from897 onwards.No monogramLimoges obols are
known.One denierfromthe 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.On thedeniers,theking's titleis CARLVS REX,
withoutFR, and the mintname is NEVERNIS CIVITAI, sometimesblundered.On
theobols thename of thekingis the same, CARLVS REX,and themintname on the
reverse can be NEVERNIS CIVITAI, NEVERNIS CVS or BEVEBniS CVin.53 The
monogramdeniers fromNevers are only known fromthe Montrieux-en-Sologne
hoard, and the obols fromHuriel. This suggests theywere a mintedat the end of
the reignof Charles the Bald at the earliest,and possibly laterin the ninthcentury.
Some GDR coins are also known forNevers fromhoards discovered at Nourray,
Cosne-sur-Loire,Savign-sous-le-Lude,Montrieux-en-Sologne,Ablaincourt,Glisy
and Cuerdale. This means thattwo different
typesof coins mighthave been struckin
thename of thiscityeithersimultaneouslyor one afteranother.The presenceof both
Karolus monogramand GDR coins fromNevers in theMontrieux-en-Solognehoard
suggeststhatat theveryleast bothtypesmighthave been in circulationat the same
time.One monogramcoin fromthisminthas been analysed (Prou 595, Pl. 16, 27),
and two GDR issues forcomparison(Prou 593-594, Pl. 16, 28-29).
Noyon also struckmonogramdeniersand obols duringthe second partof Charles
the Bald's reign.The typologyis the same forall of them:the royal titleis on the
obverse (CARLVS REX FR) and the reversebears the monogramencircledby the
legend NOVIOIM, with some variationin the spelling of the mintname. The only
differencebetween deniers and obols is a tilde which separatesthe O and the I on
thedeniers(NOVlO-IM), but not on the obols. Monogram deniersfromNoyon are
knownfromthehoardsunearthedat Ablaincourtand Glisy.The latteralso contained
one obol fromthe same mint.The probable date of concealmentof thesetwo hoards
dates these issues to after864 at the earliest,and possibly afterthe deathof Charles
the Bald. One monogramdenier fromNoyon, which was not attributedto 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 includedforcomparison.
53The
ofthelastofthesethree
as wereaditfrom
GarielXXIII,64.Gariel
transcript
legends
appears
followed
byMGreaditnBAERniSCNR

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 241
CHARLEMAGNE,
The attributionand dating of the Karolus monogramcoins fromthe six mints
discussed in this section is quite clear fromthe composition of the hoards. They
were mintedat theearliestby Charles theBald duringthesecond periodof his reign,
between864 and 877. The evidence citedby Coupland makes thisclear forBeauvais
and Noyon and thesame could probablybe said of Compigne.54Coupland mentions
neitherClermontor Nevers but,in our opinion,hoardevidence makes itclear thatno
monogramcoins were strucktherebefore 864. The metal analyses are nonetheless
interestingas the resultscan be used to confirmtrendsobserved for otherfirmly
dated issues, and as a basis fordating problematiccoins which will be discussed
lateron.
The monogramcoins of Beauvais, Limoges, Nevers and Noyon all have a silver
contentof more than90% (Figure 6). These analyses closely matchthose obtained
forCharlemagne'sClass III and Charles theBald's GDR coins, and exclude thefirst
mintingperiod of Charles the Bald until 864. The hoard evidence makes minting
duringCharlemagne's reign impossible and very unlikelyfor the period 840-64.
The coins should thereforeundoubtedlybe dated to the second partof Charles the
Bald's reignor to theyears followinghis death.Even thoughonlyone coin has been
analysed foreach of themintsof Limoges, Noyon and Nevers,theseven resultsfrom
Beauvais suggesta veryhighstandardisationin silverfineness,similarto thatwhich
can be observed forthe GDR coinage of the same period. The metallurgicalresults
obtained forthe monogramand GDR coins fromNevers and Noyon, the two mints
strikingboth types between 864 and 875, show strongsimilaritiesin theirsilver
content(Figure 6) in spite of thesmall numberof coins.
fromthatof
The silverfinenessof themonogramcoins fromClermontis different
theotherfourmints.Two of thenine coins analysed containless than90% precious
metal (Prou 765: 87.1%; Prou 766: 81.3%). Could theybe laterissues? If so, this
could reveal a decrease in the finenessnoticeable in coins fromthe veryend of the
ninthcenturyonwards,yet one of the latestcoins mintedat Clermont,foundin 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 by Prou to be issues of Charles the Simple,55is anotherindicationthatthis
hypothesisis incorrect.An alternativeis thatthe coins fromClermontwitha lower
silver contentcould be the earliest,and that standardisationto a very high level
of purityafter864 was gradual. The only coin attributedto Clermontthatcan be
associated withCharles theBald's firstperiodof minting(Prou 1058,) containsonly
48.6% silver. This is obviously very differentfromthe few 'debased' monogram
coins thatare discussed here.The analysis of coins fromtheperiod 840-64, withno
of
to Clermontby Coupland, would help our understanding
mintname butattributed
Charles theBald's mintingpolicy.
54Coupland,
CharlestheBald, p. 125.
55Prou,p. 106,before
the'style'ofthecointo
mentions
ofProu769.Theauthor
thedescription
intheearly
and
the
of
Charles
the
death
three
coins
after
these
of
the
Bald, possibly
justify minting
Prou769
of
title
on
the
obverse
the
of
The
Charles
the
under
tenth
king's
mis-spelling
Simple.
century
ofProu770andProu771,especially
andthecrudeengraving
ofCARLVSREX),
instead
(CARLVDX,
thistoProu.
bethecluesthatsuggested
ofthe771,might
onthereverse
forthemonogram

242
GUILLAUME
SARAH
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 investigationof the coins fromthe otherfive
mintsconsidered here would shed more lighton this question. It mightshow, for
between
example,thatthedifferenceobservedforClermontreflectsa differentiation
and
with
Nevers
and
on
one
Beauvais,
side,
Noyon
Neustria/Burgundy Aquitaine,
and Clermontand Limoges on the other.Monogram coins fromLimoges, Nevers
and Noyon are veryscarce, so it seems a near impossibletask to gathera sufficient
numberof such issues to obtaina representative
sample.
FIG. 6. Comparison of the fineness of the Karolus monogram coins from

Beauvais, Clermont,Limoges, Nevers and Noyon, withthatof the GDR coins
fromNevers and Noyon, and the issues from Charlemagne's Class Illand
Charles the Bald's firstand second periods.
Examinationofthezinc and gold contentofdateablecoins can helpintheattribution
of coins of uncertaindate. As a rule,the monogramcoins analysed fromthe mints
of Beauvais, Clermont,Limoges, Nevers and Noyon are characterisedby relatively
highgold levels, around 1% in mostcases. Figure 7 shows thatthesetraceelements
in the monogramcoins are similar to those contained in most of the GDR coins
fromothermints,which fall intoellipse D. Only one coin fromBeauvais (Prou 255,
Pl. 15, 10) has a much lower gold content(193 ppm). Even thoughthe point that
representsthis coin falls withinellipse A (Charlemagne Class III) on Figure 7, its
as a traceelementpatternassociated withthe GDR
positioncan also be interpreted
coins of ellipse C.
The two trace elementsare also significantforthe coins of Clermont(Figure 7).
Whereas the gold contentis similarforall the nine coins analysed,the zinc levels

THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
CHARLES
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 243
CHARLEMAGNE,
rangefrom352 ppm to 7177 ppm. Clermontissues containsome of thehighestzinc
levels of all the monogramcoins, close to those of the issues of Charles the Bald's
firstperiod (ellipse B). The two coins with the highestzinc contentare also those
mentionedabove as having a lower silver fineness.This could be a clue for the
datingof themonogramcoins fromClermont:thehigherthezinc contenttheearlier
theminting.
The similarpositionof theKarolus monogramand GDR coins fromNevers and
Noyon in Figure7 also confirmsthattheirmintingperiodswas similar,perhapseven
identical.
coins fromBeauvais, Clermont,Limoges, Nevers and Noyon, withthatof the
GDR coins fromNevers and Noyon, and the issues fromCharlemagne'sClass
III and Charles the Bald's firstand second periods.
The trends in the analytical results of the monogram coins from Beauvais,
of the types of
Clermont,Limoges, Nevers and Noyon confirmthe differentiation
coins inferredfromnumismaticand hoard evidence and the hoards. The following
paragraphsillustratehow thisapproach can be used forthemostproblematicmints:
thePalace, Sens, Bourges,Toulouse and Melle.
The Palace (Figs 8 and 9)
The Palace was an important
mintfortheissue ofKarolus monogramcoins during
thereignof Charles theBald. It differsfrommostothermintsin thatit does notbear

244
GUILLAUME
SARAH
the name of a cityand its location is uncertain,thoughLafaurie suggestedSenlis.56

One cannoteven be certainthatall the coins ascribed to Charles the Bald, withthe
Palace mintname, have a commonorigin.
There are two main varietiesof monogramcoins fromthe Palace. On the first
theking's titleappears on theobverse as CAROLVS REX,and themintname on the
reverseis PALATINA MONETA (MG 625-626). The finalA of thereverselegend
is sometimesomitted.There is a pellet in each quarterof theobverse cross. Deniers
of the second variety(MG 622-624) also have the legend CAROLVS REX on their
obverse; in mostbutnotall cases, thefinalX is elongated.There are no pelletsin the
quartersof thecross. The monogramon thereverseis notalways correctlyengraved:
the general shape seems to be reversed,but some lettersare writtencorrectly.The
spelling of the mint name varies (PALATINA MONE, PALATINA MONEA,
PALATINA MONEAT. . .). The N is frequently
reversedand can be writtenas an H,
or as II. One typeof Karolus monogramobol can be attributed
to the Palace. It has
thelegends CAROLVS REX EQ and PALATINA MOE.57
Twelve monogramdeniersof thePalace have been analysed in thisstudy.Five of
thembelong to thefirstvariety(Prou 12-15, PL 16, 33-36 and MdP 82, PL 16, 37),
and seven to thesecond.Among thelatter,two have a reversedmonogram(Prou 1617, PL 16, 38-39), whereas it appears correctlyon thethreeothers(Prou 18-19, PL
16, 40-41, BnF 18a, PL 17, 42 and MdP 83-84, PL 17, 43-^4).
Anothertypewas mintedduringthe reignof Charles theBald in thename of the
Palace, a GDR issue, mintedafter864. Five deniers(Prou 20-22, PL 17, 45-47 and
Prou 24-25, PL 17, 48-49) and one obol (Prou 23, PL 17, 50 ) of theGDR typehave
been analysed and includedforcomparisonwiththeKarolus monogramissues.
The analysis of the monogramcoins fromthe Palace yielded unexpectedresults.
The differencein design - withand withoutthe fourpellets in each quarterof the
obversecross- correlateswiththepurityin silver(Figure8). All coins withoutpellets
have a veryhighsilvercontent,rangingfrom92% to 98%. The denierswithpellets,
on theotherhand,are much debased, containingonly 40% to 70% of silver.One of
thesecoins has an unusuallyhighlead content(Prou 13, Pl. 16, 34, 26.0% Pb). This
metalswere meltedto debase thesilvermintedduringthe
suggeststhatverydifferent
840-64.
The
division
of themonogramcoins fromthePalace intotwo groups
years
is distinctlyvisible on Figure 8. The high silver standardthatseems to characterise
themonogramdeniersfromthePalace withno pellets (94.9% on average) matches
theresultsobtainedfortheGDR coins, fromthesame mint(93.1%) as well as from
othermints(94.1%). This suggeststhatthepurestones were mintedduringCharles
the Bald's second period of issue (864-77), and the debased ones duringthe first
period(840-64).
'L'article
ofminting
"Lafaurie,
p. 116andn.11.Fora general
understanding
inthenameofthePalaceseeJ.Lafaurie,
'MonetaPalatina',
Francia4 (1976),pp.59-86.Lafaurie
ofCharlestheBaldKarolusmonogram
coins(withand
seemsto believethatbothofthevarieties
without
fourpelletsontheobverse)
wereproduced
before
864,andthattheGDR typewastheonly
after
this(Ibid.,p. 70).
coinage
57MG 1193toCharles
theChild.SeeCoupland,
CharlestheBald,p. 125forthere-attribution
ofthis
coin.

THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 245
CHARLES
CHARLEMAGNE,
FIG. 8. Comparison of the finenessof the Karolus monogramcoins fromthe

Palace with thatof the GDR coins fromthe same mint,and the issues from
Charlemagne'sClass III and Charles the Bald firstand second periods.
The picturegiven by the hoards is informative,thoughincomplete.Monogram
coins fromthe Palace withno pellets have been reportedfromhoards unearthedat
Chalo-Saint-Mars,Montrieux-Courbanton,
MonchyNourray,Fontaines-Bourgneuf,
au-Bois and Glisy. These hoards can be dated to after864, which concurswiththe
analyticaldata. Referencesto findsof Palace coins with fourpellets in the obverse
cross are harderto find.Haertle mentionsone such denier at Glisy,but it does not
appear in Duplessy's description,in which he highlightsinconsistenciesbetween
different
reportsof the hoard.58MG mentionsthe Compigne hoard as containing
monogramcoins fromthe Palace with four pellets thoughthis was not reported
by Haertle.59Such conflictinginformationmeans that it is betterto assume there
is no reliable hoard evidence forthis variety.An attributionto Charles the Bald's
firstperiod of mintingfrom840 to 864 is the most likely.Lafaurie's remarkabout
the pellets on one of these coins supportsthis hypothesis:'Le type du droit,croix
58Duplessy154,p. 69.Thereport
oftheGlisyhoard,
a description
of
containing
givenbyCharvet
theeightmonogram
thePalaceanda drawing
ofbothsides,doesnotshowsuchpellets.
coinsfrom
J.Charvet,
'Monnaies
dcouvertes
Glisy',RBN5,2 (1870),pp.417-39,atp. 433,no.54.A. Bazot
four
GDRcoinsfrom
thePalacefortheGlisyhoard,
butnoKarolusmonogram
issue.A. Bazot,
reports
surunetrouvaille
demonnaies
Glisy',Bulletin
dela SocitdesAntiquaires
dePicardieIX,
'Rapport
(1865-7),pp.130-46.
59A report
oftheCompigne
hoardmentions,
a majority
ofGDRcoins,twodeniers
which
alongside
canbe supposed
tobe Karolusmonogram
coins:onefrom
thePalace.The
Beauvais,andonefrom
legendson thissecondonearegivenCAROLVSREXandPALATINAMONETA.Thedescription
ofthetypesis notsufficient
toidentify
oneoranother
ofthePalace,so itcannot
be usedas
variety
ofKarolusmonogram
thismint
withfourpellets
evidence
ontheobverse.
A. de Roucy,
coinagefrom
de la SocitHistorique
Bulletin
de Compigne
(1884),pp.39-41.

246
GUILLAUME
SARAH
cantonnede quatrepoints,a t utilisjusqu'en 864 pour les deniersau temple'.60

No Karolus monogramcoins mintedduringthe reign of Charles the Bald, either
before or after864, bear these four pellets.61Although pellets or crescentshave
been knownto appear on some coins of Charlemagne's Class III (793/4-812), they
seem to be primarilya featureof Louis thePious' Christianareligio or templetype
(822-40), which was continuedat some mintsunder Charles the Bald after840.
Among this ruler's temple type issues, those most likelyto have been mintedfirst
- probablyas early as 840 - have pellets in the cross at the mintsof Laon, Reims,
Chartres,Orlans, Sens, Auxerreand on the Christiana religio issues. On the other
hand, the fourpellets do not appear on any obverse of the GDR coins mintedafter
864. Surprisingly,the pelleted and unpelletedKarolus monogramcoins fromthe
Palace can thereforebe dated to different
periods.
Their gold and zinc content,as well as theirfinenessin silver,is also helpfulin
this case. First,the concentrationsin gold and zinc confirmthe existence of two
distinctvarieties,with and withoutfour pellets in the obverse cross, discernible
by the differencein the purityof the alloy (Figure 9). The figureclearly shows
that the more debased coins have very high zinc levels (ellipse B), confirming
theirattribution
to Charles the Bald's firstperiod of minting(840-64). This either
contradictsCoupland's suggestionthattherewas no mintingof Karolus monogram
coins outside Aquitaine before 86462or the location of the Palace mint must be
moved fromSenlis to somewherein the kingdomof Aquitaine. The gold contentof
bothvarietiesis high.The unpelletedvarietyhas lower concentrationsof zinc, which
are variable enoughto allow theirpartitionin two groups(Figure 9). The coins with
the higherzinc contenthave a trace elementspatternsimilarto Charles the Bald's
GDR coins (864-77) as can be seen fromellipse D in Figure 9. Coins witha much
lower zinc contentalso have less gold thanthefirstgroup,and gatherin anotherpart
of the graph(outside ellipse D). This however is not sufficientevidence to propose
two distinctgroupsamong theunpelletedKarolus monogramcoins fromthePalace,
as they cannot be correlatedwith a numismaticdifference:for example Prou 16
and Prou 17, Pl. 16, 38-39, have exactly the same numismaticcharacteristics,
but
do notbelong to the same group.The most likelyexplanationis thatthe analysis of
more coins would join these two artificialgroups.The silver,gold and zinc content
thereforemerelyexclude an attribution
of the unpelletedKarolus monogramcoins
fromthe Palace to Charles the Bald's firstperiod of minting,and confirmstheir
datingto theyears after864.
The analysisof theGDR coins fromthePalace (Figure 9) is also informative.
The
six coins analysed fall intotwo different
on
their
content.
categoriesdepending
gold
The concentrationsare 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 confirmsthe trend
observed previously.Unfortunately,
althoughthereis some varietyin the spelling
60Lafaurie,
'L'article
XI del'EditdePitres'
ofthecoinillustrated
atp. 114,
(n.59),inthedescription
fig.1,no.3.
61Oneortwo
forsomerarecoins,butnever
four.
only,
62Coupland,

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROLUS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 247
CHARLEMAGNE,
of the legends and the shape of the monogramon Palace GDR coins, thereis no
correlationwiththe differencesobserved in thetraceelements.Two hypothesescan
be proposed regardingthese results:theymightreflecta change in the originof the
silver used or in the metallurgicaltreatmentof the ore, or they mighthave been
sources.
mintedat two different
locations,using silverfromdifferent
coins fromthePalace withthatof theGDR coins fromthesame mint,theissues
fromCharlemagne'sClass III and Charles theBald's firstand second periods.
Sens (Figs 10 and 11)
It is not certainthatall Karolus monogramcoins attributedin the past to Sens
were reallymintedthere.The reverselegend SENNES thatappears on some of them
is problematic.Depeyrot mentionsthese deniers in the section on the coinage of
thatsurrounds
Sens (Depeyrot 919); MG, on the otherhand stressestheuncertainty
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
Volckers linksthe coins withthislegend to an 'unbekannteMnzsttte
certainty'.63
in der Gegend von Mainz'.64The reason forthisis thatsome coins of Mainz as well
as some withthe legend SENNES have a cross on two steps surroundedby the mint
name. Both Sens and Mainz were episcopal citiesat thetime,and thesimilarityin the
typesof thesecoins mightreflecttheirreligiousprominenceratherthangeographical
proximity.In addition,one would expect coins to have been mintedat Sens during
the second part of the reign of Charlemagne.The importanceof the mintof Sens,
63Coupland,
Charlemagne,
p. 221.
64Vlckers,
p. 185,XLII,32.

248
GUILLAUME
SARAH
even thoughthereis no available data forthe time of Charlemagne,is emphasised

by the Edict of Pitresof 864 which mentions.it among the ten thatwere allowed
to strikecoins in theirown name. Coupland has noted that,'Sens was anotherof
mintsat thistime[840-64]'. 65MEC erroneously
Charles theBald's more significant
mentionscoins of Sens where a P replaces the centralcross as on some issues from
Mainz.66This seems to be a confusionof types.Three varietiescan be identifiedfor
the coins fromMainz (centralcross, centralcross on steps,centralP), but only two
forSens (centralcross and centralcross on steps) - assumingthe attribution
of the
coins withthelegend SENNES to thismintis correct.There is no mentionof a Sens
coin witha P in any publishedsource or in the collectionsof the BnF and the MdP.
The attribution
of the SENNES deniersto Sens seems the most likely,untila better
The presenceof a SENNES denierin theBiebrichhoardmeans
suggestionemerges.67
thisvarietyshouldbe attributed
to Charlemagne,whetheror notthereare stepsunder
thecross on thereverseor pellets in its quarters.
There is no hoard evidence for the monogramcoins of Sens with the legend
SENONES CIVITA. MG and Depeyrot both mentionsome in the Zelzate hoard,
but Haertle only lists templetype coins.68Coupland has shown thatcoins withthe
to Charles theBald;
legendCIVI or CIVITAS should notautomaticallybe attributed
in the case of Sens though,it seems reasonable to associate theSENONES CIVITA
monogramcoins with him, as coins with anothervarietyof the legend have been
attributedto Charlemagne. Coupland is the only author not to attributeKarolus
monogramcoins withthislegend to Charles theBald,69and in thiswe do not follow
him.It is nonethelessimpossibleto establishwhetherthisvarietywas mintedbefore
or after864.
Sens produced several types of coins duringthe reign of Charles the Bald in
additionto themonogramtype.70From 840 to 864 some have themintname SEN
/NES in two lines in thefield,witha royaltitleCARLVS REX or CARLVS REX FR,
thereis also a templetypewitheithera regularroyal titleon the obverse (CARLVS
REX FR), a slightvariation(CAROLVS REX FR), or a differentlegend entirely
(TEMPVS CARLVS REX).71Afterthe reformof the Edict of Ptres in 864, some
GDR coins were struckat Sens. The obverse legend is GRATIA D~l REX around
65Coupland,
66AffiCI, 208.
p.
67See alsoPh.Salmon,
de numismatique
RBN2 19(1855),pp.173-197at
Snonaise',
'Fragments
pp.174-9.
68Haertle
86/305-8.
SeealsoMG983andDepeyrot
924.
69MG 983; Depeyrot
929; Coupland,
, p. 218. MEC I, p. 232,wouldpresumably
Charlemagne
attribute
theSENONES
CIVITAKarolusmonogram
coinstoCharlemagne
as themint
ofSensis not
mentioned
themints
thatstruck
suchissuesunder
Charles
theBald.
amongst
70A proposed
ofminting
atSensduring
theperiod840-64isgiveninCoupland,
Charles
chronology
theBald,pp.139-40.
71Prou571,whosedescription
withthiscoin,which
.
is thesameas Prou572,couldnotbe identified
in1895,has
waspartofthecollection
oftheBnFwhenProuproduced
thecatalogue
ofthiscollection
864'according
sincebeenexchanged.
Thecoinsofthisvariety
datefrom
toCoupland.
'mayperhaps
SeeCoupland,
Charles
theBald,p. 139.

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 249
CHARLEMAGNE,
a monogram,and the reverse has a cross with SENONES CI VITAS around (Prou
577-580, PL 18, 64-67 and BnF 577a).
Luckily,all of themanytypesstruckat Sens duringthereignof Charles theBald
were available foranalysis. Three monogramcoins bearingthe name SENNES have
been analysed (Prou 40-41, Pl. 17, 51-52 and BnF 1992-128, PL 17, 53), and two
withthe legend SENONES CIVITA (Prou 576, PL 17, 54 and MdP 87, PL 17, 55 ).
For comparison,threedeniersdatingfromthe firstperiod of Charles the Bald with
the mintname in two lines (Prou 569-570, Pl. 17, 56-57 and MdP 81, Pl. 17, 58),
threewith a temple and the titleCARLVS REX FR (Prou 574-575, PL 17, 59-60
and MdP 75, PL 18, 61), one with CAROLVS REX FR (Prou 573, PL 18, 62), one
withthelegend TEMPVS CARLVS REX (Prou 572, Pl. 18, 63), and fourGDR coins
(Prou 577-580, PL 18, 64-67) have also been analysed,makinga total 17 coins.
First we studied the silver finenessof the monogramcoins attributedto Sens,
and founda differencebetweenthose witha reverselegend SENNES and those with
SENONES CIVITA (Figure 10). The finenessof theSENNES coins is veryhigh,above
90% forthe two coins analysed. This confirmstheirattributionto Charlemagne's
Class III (793/4-812), made on thebasis of hoardevidence. On theotherhand,coins
witha reverselegend SENONES CIVITA are debased: theirsilvercontentis around
70%. As thereis no reliable data fromthehoards,one can onlydate themto 840-64,
is confirmed
thisattribution
Charles the Bald's firstperiod of minting.Furthermore,
by the analysis of coins fromthe same mintstruckduringthisperiod: coins witha
reverselegend in two lines, as well as those with the mintname around a temple,
have a silvercontentof 65.0% and 70.6% respectively(Figure 10). Four of thefive
GDR coins have a very high silver content,above 90%. This is all in accordance
withthevalues determinedforcoins of othermintsstruckduringthesame years.The
fifthcoin (Prou 579, PL 18, 66) is not as pure,at only 72.9% of preciousmetal.This
differencein compositiondoes not correspondto any specificnumismaticfeature,
which could make it a contemporaryimitation.
Minting at Sens during the reign of Charles the Bald can be summarisedas
follows: threedifferent
typeswere struckduringthe firstperiod of his reign(84064): reverselegend in two lines,mintname surroundinga temple,monogramcoins.
The mostlikelychronologyforthese issues would put thetempletypefirst,thenthe
reverselegend in two lines, and finallythe Karolus monogramtype.Unfortunately
the metallurgicalcompositionof the coins does not help confirmthis hypothesis.
Afterthereformof 864 therewould only have been GDR coins mintedat Sens.
to Sens are helpfulin thisrespect(Figure 11).
Trace elementsofthecoins attributed
The threecoins bearingthe legend SENNES on the reversehave variable gold and
zinc levels. They cover thewhole rangedefinedforthecoins of Charlemagne'sClass
III on Figure 11. Two of thethreehave a highcontentof thesetwo elements,placing
themon theborderbetweenellipse A (CharlemagneClass III) and ellipse D (Charles
the Bald second period). On the otherhand, the thirdcoin of this varietyhas an
average gold contentand very low zinc content.The monogramdeniers with the
legend SENONES CIVITA have veryhigh zinc level (2.8% and 4.0%), which links
themto Charles the Bald's firstperiod coins in ellipse B. The same can be said of

250
SARAH
GUILLAUME
two othervarieties,thecoins withthemintname in two lines and thosewiththemint

name surroundinga temple,which are undoubtedlyattributableto the years 84064. This confirmsthe attributionof the coins fromSens with a legend SENONES
CIVITA to Charles theBald's firstperiod of minting.
FIG. 10. Comparison of the fineness of the Karolus monogram coins

attributedto Sens with that of the coins of Charles the Bald mintedbefore
864 (reverse in two lines and temple type) and the GDR coins fromthe same
mint,and the issues fromCharlemagne's Class III and Charles the Bald's
firstand second periods.
The GDR coins fromSens also have revealingtraceelements.One coin (Prou 579,
PL 18, 66) which has a low silverfinenesshas a veryhighlevel of zinc (nearly 1%)
comparedwiththeothercoins of thesame type,regardlessof themint(Figure 11). In
otherGDR coins fromSens thehighestzinc contentis 0.15% (Prou 580, Pl. 18, 67).
It is veryunlikelythata GDR coin would have been produced before864, so this
The otherfourGDR
seems to confirmthesuspicionthatProu 579 mightbe a forgery.
in
11
is
coins fromSens, whose fineness veryhigh,split Figure
accordingto their
to Charles theBald's second periodof
gold contentintothetwo groups,attributable
64-65
less than 100 ppm of gold, and belong
Prou
Pl.
contain
577-578,
18,
minting:
to the group in ellipse C. Prou 580, Pl. 18, 67 and BnF 577a, whose concentrations
of gold are muchhigher(7000 to 8000 ppm), are in ellipse D. This separationof the
GDR coins needs to be confirmedby futureanalyses. Thereare logarithmicscales on
thefiguresin which thisphenomenonhas been observed: the separationthatcan be
seen on thegraphis a contraction,and therealityis even morepronounced.

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 251
CHARLEMAGNE,
FIG. 11. Comparison of the gold and zinc patternsof the Karo lus monogram
coins attributed
to Sens withthatof thecoins of Charles theBald mintedbefore
864 (reverse in two lines and temple-type)and the GDR coins fromthe same
mint,and the issues fromCharlemagne's Class III and Charles the Bald's first
and second periods.
Bourges (Figs 12 and 13)
Bourges is one of the four mints which struck monogram coins for both
Charlemagne and Charles the Bald. Sens, considered above, Toulouse and Melle,
discussed in thenexttwo sections,are the otherthree.
Karolus monogramcoins fromBourges clusterintotwo main groups:thefirsthas
a reverse legend BITVRICA^ (MG 173-175), the second reads BITVRICES CIVI
(MG 1071-1076). The BITVRICA^ coins all have theroyaltitleCARLVS REX FR,
and the S at the end of the mintname is horizontal.In about halfthe cases thereare
crescentsin each quarterof the centralcross on the obverse.A correspondingobol,
witha large monogramfillingthefieldon the obverse,and the same legend around
a cross on thereverse,has been reported,72
thoughit is notmentionedin laterworks.
The monogramcoins with a BITVRICES CIVI legend have neithercrescentsnor a
horizontalS. On theobverse,themain differencefromthefirsttypeis thespellingof
theking's title,CARLVS REX withoutFR. In thisstudy,fiveBITVRICA^ coins, all
deniers,have been analysed (728-732, PI. 18, 68-72), along withfourBITVRICES
CIVI, threedeniers(Prou 739-740, Pl. 18, 73-74 and Prou 742, Pl. 18, 75) and one
obol (Prou 741, Pl. 18, 76).
72De Coster,
ofitsdiscovery
makeclearthat
thiscoin
'Restitution',
pl.xiii,no.11.Thecircumstances
beattributed
toCharlemagne.
should

252
GUILLAUME
SARAH
Hoards indicatethateach group of coins is linked to one ruler:the BITVRICAS

coins were mintedby Charlemagne,and the BITVRICES CIVI by Charles the Bald.
Coupland has recentlyarguedthat'it is now impossibleto attributeindividualcoins
to one or otherrulerwithouta context'.73It is howeverpossible to date individual
coins ofunknowncontextfromtheevidenceofknownhoardsof a period.Therewere
fourBITVRICAS coins in the Biebrich hoard, which is the most representativeof
Charlemagne's post-reform
coinage,as well as one atBorneandatChteau-Roussillon,
also datedto Charlemagne.BITVRICES CIVI deniersand obols appear in thehoards
of Chaumoux-Marcilly,Fontaines,Cosne-sur-Loire,Gannat,Montrieux-en-Sologne
and Bonnevaux,all datedto thereignof Charles theBald or later.It thereforeseems
reasonable to attributethe BITVRICES CIVI monogramcoins to Charles the Bald.
As a generalrule the presence or absence of CIVI, CIVITAS or similarshould not
be regardedas an absolute criterionfor distinguishingCharlemagne's coins from
CharlestheBald's at all mints.74
Yet in thecase of Bourges and, as ithas been shown
in thepast,Toulouse, thisdifferencein thereverselegends is relevant.The probable
date of thehoardssuggeststhatthemintingof theBITVRICES CIVI issues occurred
bothbeforeand aftertheEdict of Pitresof 864. There are no GDR coins knownfor
Bourges,so themonogramcoins were theonlyones mintedby CharlestheBald after
thisyear untilthe imperialcoinage appeared in 875. The existenceof some portrait
and templecoins forthismintbefore864 shows thatseveral typeswere mintedin
Bourges duringCharles theBald's firstperiodof issue.75
No temple coin fromBourges was available foranalysis. Four portraitdeniers
have been studied,threeof which have been analysed (Prou 736-738, PL 18, 78to which
80).76The analysisis of particularinterestin answeringtwo questions:first,
of
Charles
the
Bald
should
the
BITVRICES
CIVI
deniers
and
obols
mintingperiod
be attributed;
and second, can theyconfirmthatthedifferencesin silverfinenessand
traceelementsdo distinguishCharlemagne'sissues fromCharles theBald's?
All butone oftheBITVRICA^ or BITVRICES CIVI monogramcoins fromBourges
are verypure,witha silvercontentrangingfrom93.9% to 97.0% (Figure 12). These
values are consistentwiththoseobtainedforCharlemagne'sClass III and forCharles
theBald's secondperiodcoins.The hoardsand theanalysesbothdatetheBITVRICA^
coins to theyears793/4-812. These resultssuggestthatthreeof thefourBITVRICES
CIVI coins analysed should be dated to 864-77. Even more interesting
is theresult
obtainedfortheonlyobol studied(Prou 741, PL 18,76), witha legendCARLVS REX
on the obverse and BITVRICES CIVI on the reverse.The silvercontentof thiscoin
is 43.7%, which is much lower thanall othermonogramcoins fromBourges. This
probablymeansthatthisobol is theonlyone mintedduringtheyears840-64. On the
otherhand thethreegenuineportraitcoins of Charles theBald's firstperiod contain
muchmore silverthanProu 741. The values determinedforProu 736, 737 and 738,
73Coupland,
Charlemagne,
p. 219.
74
Charles
the
Bald,
Coupland,
p. 125.
75Ibid.,pp.128-9fora proposition
ofchronology
oftheminting
inBourges
theperiod840during
64.
76Prou735,PL 18,77hasbeenexcluded
from
theinterpretation
as bothitsappearance
anditssilver
content
itisa forgery.
(3.3%)suggest

THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 253
CHARLES
CHARLEMAGNE,
PI. 18, 78-80 are 75.6%, 81.1% and 82.0% respectively.Even thoughthisis 10 to
20 % lower thanmost of the monogramcoins, thereis still a significantdifference
betweentheportraitcoins and theobol, Prou 741, Pl. 18, 76.
Prou 741 could well be theonlyKarolus monogramcoin fromBourges of Charles
theBald's firstperiodin thesample analysed.Accordingto Coupland, themonogram
typeof Charles the Bald was mintedin Bourges duringthe early 840s. Pippin II of
Aquitaine then occupied the town and struckhis own coinage thereuntil shortly
after848, when Charles regained Bourges. The portraittype of Charles the Bald
was mintedafterwards.The monogramissues resumedduringthe 850s.77It might
thereforebe thoughtthatthe silverminteduntilabout 850 when theportraitdeniers
appeared was still pure, and thatthe finenessthendecreased when the monogram
coins resumed.In thiscase, Prou 741 would be one of the laterissues of thistype,
produced between about 850 and 864, ratherthan one of the coins mintedbefore
Pippin II of Aquitaine took controlof the city.Anotherexplanationcould be that
Prou 741 is a forgeryfromCharles theBald's reign,beforethe imperialcoinage.
FIG. 12. Comparison of the silver finenessof the Karolus monogramcoins

fromBourges with those of Charlemagne's Class III and Charles the Bald's
firstand second periods.
made on
The gold versuszinc contentshown in Figure 13 confirmstheattributions
thebasis of numismaticstudyand silverfineness.The BITVRICAS monogramcoins
are located in, or near,ellipse A. As theirdatingto Charlemagne's Class III period
was already known fromhoard evidence, this confirmsthe general trace elements
forthe coins mintedbetween 793/4 and 812. The same is trueof the portraitcoins,
issued duringCharles the Bald's firstperiod (840-64) which fall withinellipse B.
One of the otherKarolus monogramcoins, the obol (Prou 741) which has already
been noted because of its debasement,has a veryhigh zinc content(4.8%) which
77
CharlestheBald,pp.128-9.
Coupland,

254
GUILLAUME
SARAH
places it in ellipse B as well. The three other monogramcoins with the reverse
legend BITVR.IS CIVI contain much less zinc (<250 ppm) placing them in or
to Charles the Bald's second minting
near ellipse D. This confirmstheirattribution
period.Two groupsof monogramcoins fromBourges essentiallydifferin theirgold
content:below 2000 ppm forthe BITVRICAS coins, and above 6000 ppm forthe
BITVR.1S CIVI.
coins fromBourges withthose of theportraitcoins of thesame mint,and those
of Charlemagne'sClass III and Charles theBald's firstand second periods.
This analysisoftheKarolus monogramcoins fromBourgesconfirmsthepreviously
establishedtrends.Though the sample is small, these resultsare encouraging.The
monogramcoins of Charlemagne's Class III, and of Charles the Bald's firstand
second mintingperiods should be studied by analysis of coins fromwell dated
hoards of Charles the Bald's reign in orderto confirmthese firstobservations,and
eventuallydate themonogramcoins fromBourges moreprecisely,on thebasis of the
silverfinenessand traceelements.
Toulouse (Figs 14 and 15)
The mintof Toulouse struckKarolus monogramcoins underboth Charlemagne
ithas been arguedthatthecoins should
and Charles theBald. Following G. Pierfitte78
be separated into two groups. Those with the mintname TOLVSA are attributed
to Charlemagne,those with TOLOSA CIVI or a variantof this legend to Charles
the Bald.79Our studyof the hoards containingmonogramcoins fromToulouse is
78G. Pierfitte,
Toulousaine.
Lesmonnaies
deCharlemagne
etdeCharles
le Chauve',
'Numismatique
RN*36 (1933),pp.149-54.
79
Coupland,
Charlemagne,
p. 220;MECI,p. 209.

THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
CHARLES
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 255
CHARLEMAGNE,
consistentwith this classification.TOLVSA coins were present in the Biebrich,
Ibersheimand Chteau-Roussillon hoards. These and two othervarietieswith the
same obverse legend CARLVS REX FR, and TOLOAS or TOLVSA on the reverse,
presentat Biebrich, Borne and Dorestad, can be attributedto Charlemagne.80On
the otherhand, coins witha TOLOSA Cl VI or similarlegend have been foundthe
hoardsat Auzeville, Toulouse, Roermondand Maray,dated to Charles theBald.
No monogram obol from Toulouse is known from hoards for the reign of
Charlemagne.No obols witha large monogramfillingthefieldon the obverse have
been foundeither,as is the case forall the mintswhich produced obols duringthe
reignof Charlemagne.Consequently,untilsome new findcontradictsthisstatement,
Toulouse should be consideredas one of themintswhich did not strikeobols before
thetimeof Louis thePious.
There is a varietyof obverse legends on Charles theBald's monogramcoins from
the Auzeville hoard. The royal name and title can read CARLVS REX, CARLVS
REX F, or CARLVS REX FR,81as well as furthervarieties (X as a +, 1). More
noticeably,all the TOLVSA coins read CARLVS REX FR on the obverse. This
enables us to distinguishthe coins of Charlemagnefromthose of Charles the Bald.
All Charlemagne's deniershave the legend CARLVS REX FR on the obverse; most
have TOLVSA on the reverse,but a few have TOLOAS or TOLOSV. Deniers and
obols readingCIVI or CIVITAS date fromCharles the Bald's reignas do any coins
whose obverse legend is not CARLVS REX FR. These last two pointsare important
as not all Charles the Bald's monogramcoins have a mintname ending CIVI. The
nottheonly
presenceor absence of CIVI at theend of thereverselegend is therefore
and
Charles
the
Bald.
way of distinguishingbetweencoins of Charlemagne
Three monogramdeniers of Charlemagne have been analysed (Prou 800-802,
Pl. 19, 81-83), and 15 deniersand threeobols ofCharlestheBald (deniersProu 813-4,
PL 19, 84-85, Prou 816-817, PL 19, 86-87, BnF 813a-c, PL 19, 88-90, BnF 814a-g,
PL 19, 91-97 and MdP 99, PL 19, 98; obols Prou 815, PL 19, 99 and BnF 817a-b,
to Charlemagneall read CARLVS REX FR and
PL 19, 100-101). The coins attributed
are
more varied. The most remarkableis Prou
Those
of
Charles
the
Bald
TOLVSA.
817 whichdoes notinclude theword CIVI butreads onlyTOLOSA. Two obols have
of thesepieces to Charles theBald is
thesame legend (BnF 817a-b). The attribution
FR
at
the
end
of
the
obverse
on
the
absence
of
based
legend.
In addition to the Karolus monogram coins, another variety was minted at
Toulouse duringCharles the Bald's firstperiod of issue (840-64). These deniers
have a cross on both sides and are mainlyknown fromthe twelve specimens in the
Auzeville hoard.82It has not been possible to analyse any of thesecoins to compare
themto the monogramcoinage. No GDR coins were mintedin Toulouse after864.
Consequently,themonogramcoins constitutethe only typewhich would have been
struckthereby Charles theBald after864.
80See Vlckers
'Restitution',
XLII,37,p. 185andDe Coster,
p. 378,no.20.
81Coupland,
82Coupland,
thisvariety
couldhavebeenminted
that
theBald,pp.140-1suggests
Charles
immediately
oftheir
after
thedeathofLouisthePiousin840onthebasisofthesimilarity
bythe
typetoonestruck
in
Hamwic.
a
similar
denier
the
of
He
also
discovery
reports
emperor.

256
GUILLAUME
SARAH

fromToulouse attributedto Charlemagneand Charles the Bald, withthose of
Charlemagne'sClass III and Charles theBald's firstand second periods.
The silver finenessof the three monogramcoins attributedto Charlemagne is
high: 92.6%, 92.9% and 89.5% (Figure 14). Althoughone of themis below 90%
(Prou 802, Pl. 19, 83), these results are consistentwith the data obtained for
to the
Charlemagne'sClass III coins, and thereis no reason to doubttheirattribution
793/4-812.
years
Most coins attributed
to Charles theBald have a lower silvercontent,rangingfrom
57% to 83%, except fortwo which have more than93% silver.Figure 14 suggests
thatmost of thecoins should be attributed
to Charles the Bald's firstperiod of issue
ratherthan his second. The two much finercoins, the obols BnF 817a and 817b,
should probablybe attributed
to Charles theBald's second period after864.
The traceelementsare difficultto interpret.
First,thereis a differencein the gold
and zinc contentof thethreecoins withthe legends CARLVS REX FR and TOLVSA
dated to Charlemagne.Two of thethreedeniers(Prou 800, Pl. 19, 81 and Prou 801,
Pl. 19, 82) have a gold and zinc contentthatmatchthevalues forCharlemagne'sClass
III coins (Figure 15) and a silverfinenessabove 92%. The third,Prou 802, Pl. 19, 83
whichhas a slightlylower silverpurity,containsmuchmorezinc: itscontentis 5620
ppm, whereas the othertwo deniers of the same varietyare below 500 ppm. The
differencein the silver finenesswas notjudged sufficient(see above) to suggest a
mintingdate in Charles theBald's firstperiodforProu 802, yettheevidenceof Figure
15 suggestsotherwise.The attribution
to Charlemagneremainsthe most likely.The
analysis of a larger sample of monogramcoins fromToulouse with the legends
CARLVS REX FR and TOLVSA would be helpfulin understandingwhetherthis
compositionis anomalous or ifothercoins have a similarcomposition.The approach
used here,whichis based on a combinedstudyof hoards,silverfinenessand gold and
zinc content,mightnotapply in some cases, thoughbe valid in general.Alternatively,
Prou 802 mightbe a coin mintedshortlyafter864, withratherhighpurity,butmade

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 257
CHARLEMAGNE,
froman alloy containingmore impuritiesthanCharlemagne'sissues because of the
debasementobservedin thesecond partof theLouis thePious up to 864.
coins fromToulouse with those of Charlemagne's Class III and Charles the
Bald's firstand second periods.
The monogramcoins of Toulouse attributedto Charles the Bald have, overall, a
high or veryhigh zinc content,most fallingin ellipse B in Figure 15. A few have a
lower zinc and gold content,and areoutsidethis ellipse, closer to ellipse C thanto
ellipse D. This is significantas the opposite was observed forthe monogramcoins
fromClermont(Figure 7). This mightreflecta differencein the provenanceof the
silver used by these two mints.Some coins may fall outside ellipse B because of
a progressivedecline in the finenessof the silver caused by the additionof small
quantitiesof brass, probably fromLouis the Pious' Class III coins. There would
have been a progressiveincrease in thezinc level from840 to 864 combinedwitha
decline in thepurityof thealloys.
The gold and zinc contentsof most of the Toulouse monogramcoins attributed
to Charles the Bald confirmtheirdatingto his firstperiod of issue. The two obols
(BnF 817a-b, PI. 19, 100-101) witha noticeablyhighersilvercontentthantheother
coins of the same typeare also set apartin Figure 15. BnF 817b containsverylittle
zinc (5.7 ppm), and muchgold (1 .8%): it is located farfromthemajorityof theother
monogramToulouse coins of Charles the Bald, which gatherin and around ellipse
B. Even thoughBnF 817b is not in ellipse D, both its veryhigh purityand its gold
and zinc contentassociate it withCharles the Bald's GDR coins, and withtheyears
864-77. On the otherhand, the second obol (BnF 817a) while less surprisingin its
gold content(0.8%), shows a veryhigh zinc concentration,
especially forso pure a
silveralloy (0.46% of Zn for94.5% of Ag). It is located close to ellipse B, however

258
SARAH
GUILLAUME
its position between ellipses B and D is unusual, consideringthatthe majorityof

Karolus monogramcoins of Toulouse attributedto Charles the Bald point from
ellipse B to ellipse C. Once again, a differencein the source of the silvercould be
the cause, in thiscase forthe same varietyof coin struckby the same mint,but we
cannot pursue the question further,
for lack of information.In our opinion silver
finenessis more relevanthere than trace elementsand, consideringthe available
forBnF 817a is to Charles theBald's second period
data,themostlikelyattribution
of minting(864-77).
The numerousacquisitionsby the BnF of monogramcoins of Toulouse since the
publicationof Prou's catalogue provide useful new data. In most of the cases, the
circumstancesof purchaseare statedin the registers,and we have at the veryleast
an inklingof the archaeological originof the coins. Only six of the 18 monogram
coins fromToulouse attributedto Charles the Bald (Prou 813-817, PL 19, 84-87
and MdP 99, PL 19, 98) are of unknownorigin.A groupof nineKarolus monogram
coins boughtin 1963 is of particularinterest.It was acquiredat thesame timeas five
deniersfromthe same mintattributedto Pippin II of Aquitaine, and this strongly
The acquisition
suggeststhatall thosecoins actuallycame fromtheAuzeville hoard.83
R
indicates
'Trsor
d'Auzeville?
Pour celles de
(References
3760-73)
register
only
Toulouse?'. The date of the Auzeville hoard is relativelywell known. It contained
onlyKarolus and Pippinusmonogramcoins,a largemajorityof themfromToulouse,
witha fewwithno mintname. Followingthedatesproposedby Coupland,84all coins
fromthishoardare verylikelyto have been mintedduringthe late 840s or theearly
850s. The nineToulouseKarolus monogramcoins acquiredin 1963 are therefore
most
likelyfromCharlestheBald's firstperiodof minting(840-64). The silverfinenessof
similarcoins would confirmthisattribution
(Prou 813-17) and (MdP 99).
The two obols BnF 817a-b should be considered separately.The origin of
BnF 817a is unknown,85
but the association with Charles the Bald's second period
should for now be maintained.
of minting,even thoughnot entirelysatisfactory,
The registeris more informativeregardingthe originof BnF 817b: the coin comes
fromthe Roermondhoard. The compositionof this hoard led Coupland to date its
concealmentto before855.86There is no mentionof such an oboi in thereportgiven
The information
by Haertle or in its primarypublication.87
given in the acquisition
must
The
which
contained obols like
therefore
be
erroneous.
hoard
only
register
BnF 817a-b is the 'Toulouse hoard', whichhad at least five.88
The purchaseof these
coins bytheBnF in 1985 coincideswiththereportgivenbyHaertlewho mentionsthat
83Thishoard
from
theregion
ofToulouse
wasunearthed
in1878(Duplessy
26).SeealsoS. Coupland,
RN6 31, 1989,pp. 194-222at p. 214,and
'ThecoinagesofPippin1 andPippinII ofAquitaine',
Charles
theBald,p. 123.
Coupland,
84According
tothisauthor,
mostofcoinsofPippinII ofAquitaine
wereminted
845-8.Coupland,
I andPippin
'Thecoinages
ofPippin
II', pp.199-204.
85Allthatismentioned
intheregister
oftheBnFis 'Vente
J.Schulman
no.281,15-16avril1985lot
no.13',withnofurther
information
a possible
from
a hoard.
regarding
origin
86Coupland,
theBald,p. 122.
Charles
87A similar
denier
51/081)
isdescribed
forRoermond
butnoobol.SeealsoH.E.VanGelder,
(Haertle
'De Karolingische
muntvondst
JMP72 (1985),pp.13-47,no.48,p. 44.
Roermond',
88Haertle
hoard'as a whole.
notinDuplessy.
Thereis noofficial
ofthe'Toulouse
48/021-4;
report
atthesametimewerepartofthe
Itis onlysupposition
thatthemany
Toulouse
coinswhichappeared
samehoard.
Haertle
I,p. 97.

CHARLES
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 259
CHARLEMAGNE,
some were sold in September1984 in Germany,and in othercountriesin following
years.The 'Toulouse hoard' thereforeseems themost likelysource forBnF 817a-b.
Unlike the Roermondhoard,its supposed date of concealmentwould be consistent
withtheanalyticalresults:as all thecoins are Karolus monogramtypesof Toulouse,
the date of strikingor concealmentcould be beforeor after864. The metallurgical
compositionis thereforethe only useful criterionforthese two obols, and the most
likelypropositionis thatBnF 817a-b were struckaftertheEdict of Pitres.
The case of Toulouse raises several questions. The data obtained fromthis mint
differfromthatobtainedfromthestudyof Bourges. Overall,thefinenessof thecoins
is lower and theirzinc contenthigher.The originof thecoins, which is an important
is not always reliable. The analyses' resultsnevertheless
elementof interpretation,
allow certainhypothesesconcerningthe dates of mintingof theKarolus monogram
coins fromToulouse.
Melle (Table 1, Figs 16 and 17)
The coins ofMelle arethehardestto studyin theKarolus monogramseries.Deniers
and obols were struckduringCharlemagne's Class III mintingperiod (793/4-812),
Charles theBald's firstand second mintingperiods (840-64 and 864-77), and from
877 to theearly 10thcenturyunderCharles the Simple. They all look similarbut for
one characteristiccross which allows some to be attributedto the years after840.
indicationon themintingperiod.Coins lackingthiscross might
This gives no further
have been mintedby any of thethreerulers.
Hoard evidence allows the issue minted in Melle by Charlemagne duringthe
All thedeniershave theking's titleCARLVS REX
period 793/4-812 to be identified.
FR on the obverse and the mintname spelled METVLLO around the monogramon
thereverse(Group 1 in Table 1). A largeKarolus monogramfillsthe obverse of the
obols forthisperiod,and on the reversethe centralcross is encircledby the legend
METVLLO. The presence of such deniers at Biebrich,Borne, Ibersheim,Dorestad,
proves that
Apremont-Veuillinand Belvzet, and an obol at Chteau-Roussillon,89
thistypewas partof Charlemagne'sClass III coinage, and itwas theonlytypestruck
at Melle duringthisperiod.90
Otherhoardsindicatethatseveraltypesofmonogramcoins were struckinthename
of Melle duringthereignof Charles theBald, and untiltheearlytenthcenturyunder
Charles the Simple. Some deniersand obols are exactlythe same as Charlemagne's
issues, mintedsome fiftyto more thanone hundredyears earlier.Not all the hoards
deposited after840 and containingmonogramcoins fromMelle will be discussed
here: let itjust be said thattheycan be foundin hoards concealed early in Charles
theBald's reign(Achlum,Angers,Brioux), after877 (Ablaincourt,Bligny),91in the
earlytenthcenturyunderCharles the Simple (Cuerdale), or even much laterin this
89Haertle
ofthehoardonthisbasis.
toCharlestheBald,andwrong
misattribution
21/006,
dating
ofthiscoin,as itappears
ontheobverse
theK andtheL ofthemonogram
Thereis nocrossbetween
inthedescription
ofthetype216is wrong
tothishoardgivenbyDepeyrot
Thereference
inHaertle.
625).
(Depeyrot
90Thecoinsbearing
a reverse
legendofthetypeEXMETALLONOVO (Prou942-943,MG 309thesameyearsof
at Melleduring
to havebeenminted
bysomeauthors
312),whicharesupposed
here.
are
not
considered
reign,
Charlemagne's
91ForthishoardHaertle
theyears900-10.
after
881andDuplessy
a deposit
proposes

GUILLAUME
SARAH
260
centuryas at Fcamp.92Withouthoard contextindividualcoins cannotbe attributed

to a specificruler.
In additionto thefirstvarietydescribedabove (CARLVS REX FR and METVLLO)
thereare two othermain groupsof Karolus monogramcoins fromMelle. The deniers
of Group 2 have the same typesand legends as Group 1, except fora cross (X, x
or +) which appears between T and V in the legend METVLLO. Thus the legends
read CARLVS REX FR and METxVLLO. A correspondingobol can be identified.
The
reverseis similarto Charlemagne'sissues (METVLLO arounda cross), but it can be
distinguishedby a small cross betweenthe K and the L of the monogramfillingthe
obversefield.This characteristic
cross in METxVLLO has been interpreted
in MEC as
a clue foridentifying
coins which were not mintedat Melle but nearbyin Poitiers.93
This second variety,like thecoins withoutthecharacteristic
cross,seems to have been
mintedthroughout
thereignof CharlestheBald untiltheearlytenthcentury.
Karolus monogramcoins of Group 3 withthe same mintlegend METVLLO but
the king's titleCARLVS REX FR is spelled differently.
It can read CARLVS REX,
CARLVS REX P or CARLVS RE F. The only published varietyfoundin a hoard is
CARLVS REX,reportedfromtheBrioux hoard,meaningthatsuch coins would have
been struckfromthe 840s on.
Coins of Groups 1 and 2 have been found in hoards fromBrioux, Maray and
Cuerdale, suggestingthattheymighthave been mintedsimultaneously.No coin of
Charles theBald withtheimperialtitleis knownforMelle, and no othertypecan be
identifiedforthismintuntilthe METALO coinage of thetenthcentury,therefore
the
second mintingperiod of the monogramcoins fromMelle could have runfromthe
accession of Charles the Bald in 840 to the deathof Charles the Simple in 929. One
thingis certain,the two main varieties,Groups 1 and 2 withcomplete legends and
withor withouta characteristiccross,cannotbe separatedintotwo different
minting
periods.
The classificationof monogramvarietiesof Melle, set out in Table 1, is used in
Figures 16 and 17 and the discussion.
TABLE 1. Numismaticclassificationof the varietiesof Karolus monogramdeniers
and obols fromMelle.
a
2
Deniers
Obverse
Obols
Reverse
Reverse
Obverse
Ruler
1 +CARLVSREXFR +METVLLO Karolusmonogram+METVLLO

Uncertain
2 +CARLVSREXFR+METxVLLOKarolusmonogram+METVLLO Charles
theBald .
+ cross
n
~ +CARLVSREX UCTVTT^ nocorresponding
t theBald- ...
+METVLLO
Charles
corresponding
+CARLVSREXF
^
obol
__J
92F.
Le Trsor
de Fcampet le monnayage
en Francieoccidentale
la
Dumas-Dubourg,
pendant
secondemoiti
duXesicle(Paris,1971),p. 245.Thecoindescribed
tothe
maybea forgery
according
author.
93MECI, 238-9.
pp.

THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
CHARLES
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 261
CHARLEMAGNE,
Melle is generallyconsideredone ofthemostprolificCarolingianmints,especially
duringthereignsofCharlemagneand CharlestheBald. This hypothesisstemsfromthe
largenumberof coins fromMelle foundin hoards,as singlefindsand in collections.
These Karolus monogramcoins are therefore
particularlynumerousin thisstudy:33
have been examined and analysed. Among themare seven deniers(Prou 699-701,
PL 21, 121-123 and MdP 89-92, PL 21, 124-127) and fiveobols (BnF 705a, PL 21,
to Charles
128, Prou 706-708, PL 21, 129-131 and MdP 96, PL 21, 132) attributed
the Bald on the basis of the presence of the characteristiccross of Group 2; one
denierattributedto Charles the Bald on the basis of the legend CARLVS RE F and
anotherwhose legend can be read CARLVS REX P (Group 3: BnF 1996-115, PL 21,
133 and 702, PL 21, 134); 13 deniers(Prou 688, PL 20, 102, Prou 692-698, PL 20,
103-109, BnF 698a-b, PL 20, 110-111 and MdP 93-95, PL 20, 112-114) and six
obols (Prou 703-705, PL 20, 115-117, BnF 703a, PL 20, 118 and MdP 97-98, PL 20,
do notallow an attribution
119-20), whose numismaticcharacteristics
(Group 1). No
obol withtheking's titleinscribedarounda cross,insteadof a largemonogram,was
available foranalysis. Two deniersattributedto Charles the Bald's firstperiod with
META / LLVM in two lines have also been included forcomparison(Prou 726-7,
PL 21, 135-136).

from Melle of the three varieties defined in Table 1, with those the same
mintof Charles the Bald's firstperiod with a reverse legend in two lines, of
Charlemagne'sClass III and Charles theBald's firstand second periods.
Group 1 coins withthefillilegend CARLVS REX FR on theobverseof thedeniers,
and no characteristiccross on thereverseof thedeniersand theobols all have a very
high silvercontent,in average 93.9% forthedeniersand 93.8% forthe obols. They
all contain more than 92% silver,except forone whose finenessis slightlylower
but still very good (Prou 696 PL 20, 107, 89.3%). Group 2, which has the same

262
GUILLAUME
SARAH
legends except forthe small characteristiccross, is of similarfineness.Even though

theaverage silvercontentis slightlylower (92.0% forthedeniersand 91.6% forthe
obols), thepurityof theseGroup2 coins is stillveryhigh.It is notpossible to attribute
these Group 1 and Group 2 coins to a specificmintingperiod on the basis of these
results.The only thingone can suggestis thatnone of the coins was mintedduring
Charles the Bald's firstperiod. Two coins (Prou 726-7) with no monogramand a
reverselegend META /LLVM in two lines,which can be undoubtedlyattributed
to
thisperiod,have a fairlyhighsilvercontentin comparisonwiththeothercoins of the
same period (82.3% and 66.7% on average; Figure 16) buteven so it seems unlikely
thatthe coins of Groups 1 and 2 can be associated with the years 840-64. Hoard
evidence precludes dating the coins of Group 2 to Charlemagne's reign, so their
silverfinenesssuggestsa date after864 forall the deniersand obols analysed. The
coins of Group 1 appear in thehoardsof Charlemagne'sreign,of Charles theBald's
beforeand after864, and afterhis deathuntiltheearlytenthcentury.For thecoins of
thisgroupthathave been analysed,all periodsof mintingseem equally likely,except
forCharles theBald's firstperiod.Analyses of Melle Karolus monogramcoins from
well dated hoardswould be a valuable asset in confirming
this.
The two Group 3 coins are much debased (Figure 16): BnF 1996-115, PI. 21, 133
contains60.4% silver,and Prou 702, Pl. 21, 134 only26.6%. Figure 16 suggeststhat
BnF 1996-115 dates fromCharles the Bald's firstperiod of minting,as the silver
contentof coins from840-64 are oftenaround60% or less. The same cannotbe said
of Prou 702 whose purityis much lower than thatof any othercoin, even forthe
years 840-64 duringwhich the purityof the metal mintedreached its lowest level
fortheperiod betweenPippin the Shortand Charles theBald. Its verylow fineness,
in additionto thepoor engravingof the letters,suggestsit could be a forgeryof the
Carolingianperiod.
The gold and zinc contentofMelle Karolus monogramcoins show some interesting
trends(Figure 17). The two coins of Group 3 whose finenessis low or very low
have a high zinc contentfallingwithinellipse B or very close. This confirmsthe
attribution
of BnF 1996-115 to the years 840-64. Prou 702 was already thoughtto
be a forgerydue to its verylow precious metal content,and thereforeits veryhigh
zinc level (4.4%) is no surprise.
The coins of Groups 1 and 2 are separatedin Figure 17 by differing
gold levels.
Coins of Group 1 with no characteristiccross, have gold levels below 1200 ppm,
some having onlya few ppm,whereas thegold contentof coins in Group 2 is above
2600 ppm, and can reach 8500 ppm. Most coins of Group 2 are included in ellipse
D, which also holds the GDR coins of Charles the Bald mintedfrom864 onwards.
This confirmsthehypothesis,made solely on thebasis of the silverfineness,thatno
coins of Group 2 should be attributedto Charles the Bald's firstperiod of minting,
even thoughthe composition of the hoards shows that some of them,bearing a
characteristiccross, were producedveryearlyduringCharles theBald's reign.This
is not enough to distinguishcoins of Charles the Bald fromlaterones. The position
of coins of Group 2, as an elongationfromellipse D towardsellipse B, is similarto
thatof the monogramcoins fromClermont(Figure 7 above). The directionof the

THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 263
CHARLES
CHARLEMAGNE,
elongationdiffersfromthatseen forthe monogramcoins attributedto Charles the
Bald fromToulouse (Figure 15). This trendsuggeststhatthe silvermintedafter864
at Clermontmighthave come mostlyfromMelle, unlikethe silverof the Toulouse
coins, at least until864. A comparisonof the lead isotope ratiosof the monogram
coins fromthesethreemintswould be necessaryto confirmthesetrends.
FIG. 1 7. Comparison of the gold and zinc patternsof the Karolus monogram
coins fromMelle of thethreevarietiesdefinedin Table 1, withthose the same
mintof Charles the Bald's firstperiod with a reverse legend in two lines, of
Charlemagne'sClass III and Charles the Bald's firstand second periods.
of the trace elementsof Group 1 coins is more complicated.
The interpretation
As we have seen thecoins of thisgroup have a veryhighfineness,and a lower gold
contentthancoins of Group2. In Figure 17 some of thecoins of Group 1 are included
in ellipse A, which includes Charlemagne's Class III monogramcoins. Othercoins
with a lower gold level are included in ellipse C, which includes coins mintedby
Charles the Bald after864. The remainderfall outsidethesetwo ellipses but,due to
as a continuationof
theirextremelylow gold and zinc levels, theycan be interpreted
the ellipse C. It could thereforebe suggestedthatthe pointsof Group 1 in ellipse A
are the coins thatwere the firstmintedunderCharlemagne:Prou 688, Pl. 20, 102,
Prou 693, Pl. 20, 104, Prou 697, Pl. 20, 108, BnF 698a, Pl. 20, 110, and the obols
BnF 703a, Pl. 20, 118, Prou 704, Pl. 20, 116, and MdP 97-98, Pl. 20, 119-120. The
others,whetherin ellipse C or not, would have been struckeitherby Charles the
Bald after864, or afterhis reign.These are the deniersProu 692, Pl. 20, 103, Prou
694-696, Pl. 20, 105-107, BnF 698b, Pl. 20, 111, MdP 93-95, Pl. 20, 112-114,
and the obols Prou 703, Pl. 20, 115 and Prou 705, Pl. 20, 117. The denier BnF

264
GUILLAUME
SARAH
698b, Pl. 20, 111, which is said to come fromthe Cuerdale hoard,94belongs to this
second group.An attribution
of thiscoin to Charlemagneis thereforeveryunlikely,
and its presence in the Cuerdale hoard suggestsa date after864 at the earliest.The
positioningof BnF 698b in Figure 17 seems to confirmthatthe monogramcoins
fromMelle of Group 1 witha verylow gold contentwere mintedafter864 and not
by Charlemagne.If this is correct,a correlationcan be seen for some monogram
coins of Charles the Bald mintedafter864, between the variety,withor withouta
cross,and theirextremelylow or veryhighgold contents.
Even thoughthe two varietieswitha completeobverse legend CARLVS REX FR
forthedeniers,withor withoutthecharacteristicsmall cross,were struckby Charles
the Bald earlyin the 840s, none of those fromthe BnF or MdP seems to have been
producedduringthe years 840-64. The positionof the two deniers(Prou 726-727,
Pl. 21, 135-136) withno monogramand a reverselegend META /LLVM, mintedby
Charles theBald before864, is similarto thatof some of themonogramcoins from
Melle in Group 1 included in ellipse A and attributedto Charlemagne.Would this
to Charlemagnecould
mean thatsome of thecoins fromMelle in Group 1 attributed
in factdate fromtheyears840-64, even thoughtheyare verypure?Is itpossible that
only the mintof Melle, because of its linkwiththe major Carolingiansilvermine,
could have maintaineda highstandardof preciousmetal forthecoins struckduring
Charles theBald's firstperiod of minting?The data available is too scarce to answer
these questions with confidence.Furtheranalyses would be necessary fora better
of these issues.
understanding
The Karolus monogramseries of Melle, more than any other,deserves further
metallurgicalanalysis, preferablyof coins from well dated hoards. The trends
observedcould thenbe confirmedor not,and theevolutionof themetalcontentused
at this major Carolingianmint,as well as the productionof silver by the adjacent
mine,mightbe betterunderstood.
Conclusion
This study has shown that analyses of the metallurgicalcompositionof coins
combinedwiththestudyofhoards,is an effectiveand innovativeapproachfordating
in thecase of CarolingianKarolus monogramcoins. Trendshave emergedfromthe
have been
finenessof the coins and theirtrace elementpatterns.Some attributions
and some new hypothesesputforward.This has been thecase ofthecoins
confirmed,
of the Palace regardingthe pellets in the quartersof the obverse cross. The three
mintsof Bourges,Toulouse and Melle, whichwere alreadyknownto have produced
some Karolus monogramcoins bothunderCharlemagneand Charles theBald, also
benefitedfromthisapproach,as did themintof Sens, which almostcertainlystruck
monogramcoins underthesetwo rulers.
Being able to distinguishbetween groupsof coins on the basis of theirgold and
zinc contentis also a greatadvance. Even thoughsome uncertaintiesremain,it has
94Thereis nodataavailable
from
theacquisition
forBnF698bas itsacquisition
reference
registers
is unknown.
Thereis a noteonthecointraysaying
thatthiscoincomesfrom
theCuerdale
hoard,
concealed
theearlytenth
century.
during

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 265
CHARLEMAGNE,
become clear thatspecifictrace elementpatternscan be identifiedwithdifferences
in the typesand varietiesof the coins. The coinage of Charles the Bald struckafter
864 of the GDR and Karolus monogramtypes,which have bothextremelylow and
veryhighgold content,is expecially worthfurther
study.
Some questions have still not been completelysolved. The next step to validate
the hypothesespresentedhere and maybe to discover others,would be to identify
monogramcoins fromwell datedhoards,or even better,to have access to hoardsthat
have not been brokenup, in orderto performfreshanalyses. A correlationbetween
the data obtained fromcoins in collections and in hoards would thenbe possible,
which would doubtlessbe invaluable to our understandingof the mintingpolicy of
theCarolingianrulersfromthe late eighthcenturyto theearlytenthcentury.
Thefollowingabbreviationshave been used:
MG forK.F. Morrisonand H. Grunthal,Carolingian Coinage (New York, 1967);
Prou forM. Prou,Les monnaiescarolingiennes.Catalogue des monnaiesfranaises
de la BibliothqueNationale (Paris, 1896);
Depeyrot forG. Depeyrot,Le numrairecarolingien. Corpus des monnaies. Third
ed. (Paris, 2008);
Haertle for C.M. Haertle, Karolingische Mnzfunde aus dem 9. Jahrhundert
(Cologne, Weimarand Vienna, 1997);
Duplessy forJ.Duplessy,Les trsorsmontairesmdivauxet modernesdcouverts
en France (Paris, 1985);
Volckers for H.H. Vlckers, Karolingische Mnzfundeder Frhzeit (751-800)
(Gttingen,1965);
MEC I forP. Griersonand M. Blackburn,Medieval European Coinage vol. I. The
Early Middle Ages (5th-10thCenturies)(Cambridge, 1986);
Coupland Charlemagne for S. Coupland, 'Charlemagne's coinage: ideology and
economy', in J. Story(ed.), Charlemagne: empireand society(Manchester,
2005), pp. 211-29;
Coupland Charles theBald forS. Coupland, 'The earlycoinage of Charles theBald,
840-864', NC 151, 1991, pp. 121-58.
Referencesfor thecoins appear as follows:
For the collection of the Cabinet des Mdailles at the Bibliothque nationale de
France,Prou xxx forthe coins referencedin the Catalogue of M. Prou and BnF xxx
forthe more recentacquisitions; MdP xx forthe coins fromthe Monnaie de Paris.
For this second collection, the referencesare taken fromJ. Belaubre, Monnaies
mdivales. 1, L're du denier (Paris, 1987).

SARAH
GUILLAUME
266
TABLE 2. Typologyof Coin Analysed and RelevantHoards

Mint
d/ob Obverselegend
Reverselegend
MG
Gariel
Agen
+CARLVSREXFR
+AGINO
177
Agen
+CARLVSRXFR
+AGINNO
178
Agen
+CARLVSREXFR
+AGINNO
179
XXII, 26
Agen
ob
Karolusmonogram
+AGINNO
1089
Agen
+CARLVSREXFR
+AGINCIVITAS
1087
XXIV,
74
XXII, 25
Agen
+CARLVSREX
+AGINOCIVITAS
1088
Beauvais
+CAROLVSREXFR
+BELGEVACVSCI
"84
Beauvais
+CAROLVSREXFR
+BELGEVACVSCI
784a
Beauvais
+CAROLVSREXFRAN
+BELGEVACVSCIVI
1375
XLII,42
Beauvais
+CAROLVSREXFRAN
+BEEVACVSCIVI
1376
XXVII,
49
Bourges
+CARLVSREXFR
+BITVRICAS
173-4 XXII,
38;
XXII, 42
Bourges
ob
Karolusmonogram
+BITVRICAS
Bourges
+CARLVS+RE
+BITVRICAS

175
~
~
XXII, 42
CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 267
CHARLEMAGNE,
Prou Depeyrot Hoards

792 793
794
795
791
3
255
135
137
256-7 136
258
136
728- 174-5
32
194
Haertle Duplessy Volckers

Charlemagne
793/4-812
1
Biebrich
XLII, p. Charlemagne
182
793/4-812
1
Dorestad
8
III, p.
139
Ibersheim
XLIII, 1
p. 186
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Biebrich
XLII, 2 p. Charlemagne
182
793/4-812
Dorestad
19
III, p.
J39
Charlemagne
793/4-812
104
Charlesthe
Compigne?
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
90/004 154
Glisy
Ablaincourt
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
90/005
154
Charlesthe
Glisy
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
Fchain
Cuerdale
Charlesthe
Monchy-au-Bois 101/001 217
Bald 2nd
('Arras')
Period864-877
Ablaincourt
Borne
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Biebrich
Dorestad
XLII, 3-6
p. 182

Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
[793/4-812
GUILLAUME
SARAH
268
Mint
d/ob Obverselegend
Reverselegend
MG
Bourges
+CARLVSREX
+BITVRICESCIVI
1071; XXII,
1072; 39-40
10756
Bourges
+CARLVSREX
+BITVRICESCIVI
1072; XXII, 41
1074
Chelles
+CARLVSREXFR
+CALAMONAS
+CARLVSREX
+CLAROMIIIT
Clermont d

"856
Gariel
XX, 191
1078; XXIII^
1080; 51;
1083 XLII, 47;
XXIII,
50
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
CHARLES
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 269
CHARLEMAGNE,
739- 192
40;
742
741
195
3 11
768; 331
765-6
ChaumouxMarcilly
Haertle Duplessy Vlckers

47/218- 94
Charlesthe
24
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
66/018 210
MercureyBourgneuf
('Chalon-surSane')
87/001 229
Montrieuxen-Sologne
('CourbantonI')
Montrieux88/004 231
en-Sologne
('CourbantonIIP)
Gannat
68/001- 152
2;
68/008
386
Chateauneuf-sur-Cher
Huriel('Moulin- 69/003; 167
69/005
Gargo)
Ablaincourt
70/001 172
Issy-1'Evque?
('Arras')
Cosne-sur-Loire 67/001-2 110
386
16
'Indre'
47/225-6 94
ChaumouxMarcilly
Cosne-sur-Loire
Huriel('MoulinGargo)
Dorestad
76/003 110
69/004; 167
69/006
-
Monchy-au-Bois 101/065-217
6
('Arras')
Avignon
Cuerdale
Ablaincourt
_-
Charlesthe
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
III 29 p.
140
-
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
82/001-2 27
82/003-4 -
[_-
[-
|_-

SARAH
GUILLAUME
270
Mint
d/ob Obverselegend
Reverselegend
MG
Gariel
Clermont
+CARLVSREX
+CLVROMANT
1082
XXIII,
49
Clermont d
+CARLVC:X
+CLAROMIIIT
1079
Clermont "b
+CARLVSREX
+CLAROMIIIT
1081; XLII,48
1084
Compigne
+C ARLVSREXFR
+CONPEDIVPALAT
"Dax
+C ARLVSREXFR
+CIAGVIS
18
XII, 185
Dax
+C ARLVSREXRI
+CIAGVIS
D^
+C ARLVSREXFR
+MGVIS+CIVE
1091
Dax
+C ARLVSREXFR
+AGVIS+CI
Dax
+CARLVSREXFR
+DIAQVIS
Dax
+C ARLVSREXFR
+CIXIAGIS
XXIII,
55
1092 XXIII,
_53
1093 XXIII,
54
1094
Dax
+C ARLVSREXFR
+AGVISVRBS
1090
Dax
ob
Karolusmonogram
+AGVISVRBS
XXIII,
52
Limoges
+C ARLVSREXR
+LIM0VIVASCIVIS
1421
L, 37
Limoges
+C ARLVSREXFR
+LIM0VIVASCIVI
1422
XXIII,
57

~788
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 271
CHARLES
CHARLEMAGNE,
764
769
331
798
69/001
167
66/016
210
872/001 379
68/003 152
69/002
210
68/003
-
152
356
Gannat
-
388
Borne
396
396
396
396
395
396B
508
Cuerdale
507
333
767; 332
770-1
799
Montrieuxen-Sologne
('CourbantonIIP)
Cosne-sur-Loire
MercureyBourgneuf
('Chalon-surSane')
Yronde
Gannat
Cosne-sur-Loire
-
Most likely
a^-r||jU^i0n
88/001

Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
GUILLAUME
SARAH
272
Mint
d/ob Obverselegend
Reverselegend
MG
Gariel
Melle
+CARLVSREXFR
+METVLLO
172;
1063
XIII, 209
Melle
ob
Karolusmonogram
+METVLLO
1060
XXIV,
76
Melle
+CARLVSREXFR
+METXVLLO
1064
XXIII,
59

THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 273
CHARLES
CHARLEMAGNE,
688; 606
692-8
703-5 622
699- 627
701
Haertie Duplessy Vlckers

Borne
Charlemagne
orCharlesthe
Bald
Biebrich
XLII, 1921 p. 184
Ibersheim
XLIII, 5
p. 187
Dorestad
III, 46-8
p. 141
2/001
17
L, 1 p.
Apremont-Veuillin
J_89
40
5/001
Belvzet
LI, 1 p.
190
301
Saint-Emilion
33/001 Achlum
769/002 Tessoualle
11
Angers
23/012-4 59
Brioux
37/032 Rys
_547/003 65
Campeaux
50/980Roermond
93
Ablaincourt
_47
80/002
Bligny
_Cuerdale
137
Fcamp
144
Foissy-lesVezelay
21/006 ChteauCharlemagne
orCharlesthe
Roussillon
Bald
23/015 59
Brioux
207
92/021-3
Maray
('Bonnevaux')
78/007
Marsum
H
Angers
Saint-Cyr-en- 56/017 297
Talmandois('La
Gillerie')
86/326
Zelzate
2
Cuerdale
Charlesthe
59
Brioux
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877

GUILLAUME
SARAH
274
Mint
d/ob Obverselegend
Melle
ob
Melle
Reverselegend
MG
Gariel
Karolusmonogram,
cross +METVLLO
betweentheK andtheL
1061
XXIV,
77
+CARLVSREXP
+METXVLLO
1065
Melle
+CARLVSREX
+METVLLO
1066
Nevers
+CARLVSREX
+NEVERNISCVITAI
1002- XXII^
3
63
Nevers
ob
+CARLVSREX
+NEVERNISCIVITAI
1004; XXIII,
1006 64
Noyon
+CARLVSREXFR
+NOVIO~M
802
XIII,
210;
XXIII,
65
Noyon
ob
+CARLVSREXFR
+NIOVIIVOM
~83
XXIII,
66
Palais
+PALATINAMONETA 625-6 LI, 53

(manydifferent
spellings)
Palais
+C AROLVSREX ; a
pelletin eachquarterof
thecentralcross
+CAROLVSREX
+PALATINAMONE(TA) 622-4 XLII,

50-3

THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
CHARLES
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 275
CHARLEMAGNE,
706-8 625
ChaumouxMarcilly
Jarnac
Bressuire
Maray
('Bonnevaux')
AngeacChampagne
Chef-Boutonne
Cholet
Cuerdale
Tessoualle
702
595
94
T75
92/001- 207
20
30/002 9
97
103
549/002 100
_-
769/003 -
91/007
624
Saumur
Cuerdale
AngeacChampagne
-
626
Brioux
23/016
59
698
Montrieuxen-Sologne
('CourbantonIIP)
88/003
69/007
210
699
952
30/002
712
Glisy
90/006
154
713
Ablaincourt
Glisy
90/007
154
210
12-5 746
16-9 746
MercureyBourgneuf
('Chalon-surSane')
66/015
Charlesthe
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877

Charlesthe
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
Charlesthe
Bald 1st/2nd
Period840-877
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
Charlesthe
Bald 2nd
Period864-877
GUILLAUME
SARAH
276
Mint
d/ob Obverselegend
Reverselegend
MG
Gariel
Palais
Sens
d
d
+ARLVSDPACIARE
+CARLVSREXFR
+PALATNIAMONE
+SENNES
627
95
LI, 52
XX, 189
ii
+CARLVSREXFR
XII, 188
Sens
+CARLVSREXFR
Sens
+CARLVSREXFR
+SENNES (crosson three 94

steps)
+SEN+NES, a pelletin
eachquarterofthecross
+SENONESCIVITAS
983
Toulouse
+CARLVSREXFR
+TOLVSA
Tl
XXIII,
67
Toulouse
+CARLVSREXFR
TOLOSV
Toulouse
+CARLVSREXFR
+TOLOAS
Toulouse
ob
Karolusmonogram
+TOLVSA
Toulouse
+CARLVSREX
+TOLOSA
XXIV,
_82
1097 -
Toulouse b
+CARLVSREX
+TOLOSA
1098
LH, 80
Toulouse
+CARLVSREXFR
+TOLSACIVI
1095
XXIII,
68

XIII, 213
1106
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
CHARLES
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 277
CHARLEMAGNE,
41
746
919B
40
576
Nourray
Ablaincourt
Montrieuxen-Sologne
('CourbantonIIP)
Chalo-Saint-Mars77/002 79
('Etampes')
("Arras")
Biebrich
919
j
XLII, 32
p. 185
-
920
924
(notinZelzate*)
ChteauRoussillon
Biebrich
21/004
Schowen
Ibersheim
Biebrich
Dorestad
XLII, 3336 p. 185

XIX, 9-10
p. 154
XLIII, 8
p. 187
XLII, 37 Charlemagne
793/4-812
p. 185
Charlemagne
793/4-812
800-2 993
1004
817
Most likely
a^ri[,u^0n
64/001 243
88/002 23 1
1001
Borne
Maray
('Bonnevaux')
-
92/025
207
1005
Avignon
Toulouse
48/00120
82/005 27
48/21-24 -
993
Auzeville
26
Toulouse

Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlesthe
Bald 1stPeriod
840-864
Charlemagne
793/4-812
Charlesthe
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
Charlesthe
Bald 1st/2nd
Period840-877
Charlesthe
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
SARAH
GUILLAUME
278
Mint
d/ob Obverselegend
Reverselegend
MG
Gariel
~
Toulouse
+C ARLVSREXFR
+TOLOSACI
1099
Toulouse
+C ARLVSREXFR
+TOLVSACIVI
1100
Toulouse
+C ARLVSREXFR
+TOLOSACIVI
1102
XXIII,
71
Toulouse
+C ARLVSREXF
+TOLSACIVI
1096
XXIII,
72
Toulouse
+CARLVSEXF
+TOLVSACIVI
1103
XXIII,
67
Toulouse
+CARLVSRE
+TOLOSACIVI
1105
LH, 81
Toulouse
ob
+C ARLVSREXF
+TOLVSACIVI
1101
XXIII,
69
Toulouse
ob
+C ARLVSREXF
+TOLVSACIV
1104
XXIII,
70
"
TABLE 3. Results of Analyses of IndividualCoins.

(1% = 10,000 ppm. nd = not detected.)
Reference King
Prou852
Charlemagne
Prou853
Charlemagne
Prou854
Charlemagne
Prou855
Charlemagne
Prou62
Charlemagne
Prou829
Charlemagne
Prou267
Charlemagne
Prou915
Prou916
BnF916a
Prou629
Prou30
Prou32
Prou33
Prou905
Prou906
BnF906b
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Mint
Tpe
MonogramArles
MonogramAries
MonogramAries
MonogramAries
MonogramDorestad
MonogramGirona
MonogramLaon
NotreDame
MonogramLucca
MonogramLucca
MonogramLucca
MonogramLyon
MonogramMainz
MonogramMainz
MonogramMainz
MonogramMilan
MonogramMilan
MonogramMilan
d/obm(g) Ag%
d
1.53 90.6%
d
1.57 92.1%
d
1.50 94.1%
d
1.68 94.4%
d
1.63 94.0%
d
1.37 88.2%
d
1.78 95.0%
8.4%
7.0%
4.8%
4.6%
4.9%
10.6%
3.8%
0.84%
0.82%
1.0%
0.76%
0.84%
0.97%
0.67%
d
d
d
d
d
d
d
d
d
d
8.0%
6.6%
6.8%
5.0%
3.9%
5.0%
4.7%
10.0%
8.7%
7.1%
0.86%
0.35%
0.67%
0.98%
1.09%
0.65%
0.88%
1.0%
0.96%
0.98%
1.50
1.32
1.55
1.64
1.62
1.66
1.71
1.61
1.67
1.63
90.7%
92.3%
92.0%
94.0%
94.9%
93.4%
94.3%
88.8%
90.0%
91.9%

Cu % Pb %
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 279
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
CHARLES
CHARLEMAGNE,
Maray
('Bonnevaux')

92/024 207
Charlesthe
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
49/022- 26
Charlesthe
46
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
...
Charlesthe
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
49/022- 26
Charlesthe
Bald lst/2nd
46
Period840-877
49/022- 26
Charlesthe
Bald lst/2nd
46
Period840-877
Charlesthe
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
Charlesthe
49/047-8 26
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
Charlesthe
49/047-8 26
Bald lst/2nd
Period840-877
1002
Auzeville
814
993
816
1003
Auzeville
813
1003
Auzeville
1006
Auzeville
815
1006
Auzeville
Au
ppm
749
719
553
1596
192
1704
4296
Zn
Sn
ppm ppm
128
9.0
17
4.8
19
_22
69
113
22
23
156
332
213
208
Bi
ppm
148
184
289
96
357
347
58
As
ppm
62
57
12
5.5
11
48
6.8
3176
2709
2287
44
J58
2199
587
148
682
122
479
622
737
2.5
27
6.1
12
17
623
7.2
673
296
1473
7.1
19
4.2
_48
_23
472
40
183
144
404
13
485
266
432
943
1141
383
42~ 40
136 86
26 _37
2.2 2.1
9.6 56
4.8 21
5.9 8.3
75
89
44
64
62
110
Sb
ppm
38
14
22
12
15
49
14
Ni
ppm
17
24
3.9
2.0
2.7
12
15
Cd
Pd
ppm ppm
1.0
0.12
0.93 0.22
1.2
0.22
0.28
1.1
0.43
1.9
1.2
0.25
0.60
2.2
Pt
ppm
0.19
0.28
0.26
0.35
nd
0.44
0.75
43
17
3.6
0.79
14
0.30
0.67
13
42
1.6
~
11
1.5
1.7
2.1
1.0
0.84
0.96
1.5
0.91
[2.5
4.9
0.60%
0.84 0.94%
0.56 1.1%
0.03 0.01%
0.48 0.07%
0.45 0.01%
0.18 0.03%
1.0
0.02%
0.34 0.71%
0.10 |o.Ql%
5.3
0.36
0.36
0.10
nd
0.38
0.30
nd
0.24
0.51

Zn/(Zn+Cu)%
0.01%
0.01%
0.04%
0.24%
0.04%
0.15%
0.54%
GUILLAUME
SARAH
280
Reference King
Prou835
Charlemagne
Prou897
Charlemagne
Prou898
Charlemagne
Prou899
Charlemagne
Prou185
Charlemagne
BnF190a
Charlemagne
Prou443
Charlemagne
BnFCte563 Charlemagne
Prou912
Charlemagne
BnF912bis Charlemagne
Prou942
Charlemagne
Prou943
Charlemagne
Prou212
Charlemagne
Prou896
Charlemagne
Prou791
Charlemagne
Prou792
Charlemagne
Prou793
Charlemagne
Prou794
Charlemagne
MdP88
Charlemagne
Prou795
Charlemagne
BnF1983-44 Charlemagne
Prou798
Charlemagne
Prou799
Charlemagne
Prou255
Charles
theBald
Prou256
Charles
theBald
Prou257
Charles
theBald
Prou258
Charles
theBald
MdP85
Charles
theBald
MdP86
Charles
theBald
BnF255a
Charles
theBald
Prou764
Charles
theBald
Prou765
Charles
theBald
Prou766
Charles
theBald
Prou768
Charles
theBald
Prou769
Charles
theBald
Prou767
Charles
theBald
BnF767a
Charles
theBald
Prou770
Charles
theBald
Prou771
Charles
theBald
Prou1058
Charles
theBald
BnF776a
Prou595
Prou593
Prou594
Prou952
Prou953
Prou954
Prou12
Prou13
Charles
theBald
Charles
theBald
Charles
theBald
Charles
theBald
Charles
theBald
Charles
theBald
Charles
theBald
Charles
theBald
Charles
theBald
Mint
d/obm(g)
Type
1.19
MonogramNarbonned
d
1.40
MonogramPavia
d
1.68
MonogramPavia
d
1.53
MonogramPavia
1.45
MonogramQuentovicd
1.54
MonogramQuentovicd
d
1.64
MonogramTours
(city)
1.64
d
MonogramTours
(city)
1.23
MonogramTreviso d
1.65
MonogramTreviso d
1.57
MonogramEx Metalo d
Novo
1.46
MonogramEx Metalo d
Novo
1.69
MonogramTvnnis d
1.46
Monogramuncertaind
d
1.53
MonogramAgen
d
1.37
MonogramAgen
d
1.59
MonogramAgen
d
1.49
MonogramAgen
d
1.55
MonogramAgen
ob 0.54
MonogramAgen
ob 0.75
MonogramAgen
d
1.31
MonogramDax
d
1.65
MonogramDax
1.64
MonogramBeauvais d
1.91
MonogramBeauvais d
1.82
MonogramBeauvais d
1.31
MonogramBeauvais d
1.74
MonogramBeauvais d
1.54
MonogramBeauvais d
MonogramBeauvais ob 0.78
1.78
MonogramClermontd
1.48
MonogramClermontd
1.38
MonogramClermontd
1.63
MonogramClermontd
1.64
MonogramClermontd
MonogramClermontob 0.61
1.68
Temple Clermontd
m
1.74
MonogramLimoges d
1.66
MonogramNevers d
GDR
Nevers d
1.70
GDR
Nevers d
1.71
1.86
MonogramNoyon d
GDR
Noyon d
1.75
GDR
1.73
Noyon d
d
1.67
MonogramPalace
d
1.51
MonogramPalace
Ag%
92.0%
93.4%
91.9%
94.2%
95.8%
94.3%
88.9%
Cu % Pb %
6.7%
5.7%
7.1%
4.1%
3.7%
4.6%
9.7%
94.2% 4.2%
1.1%
0.77%
0.64%
1.0%
0.43%
0.65%
0.83%
1.4%
87.3% 11.9% 0.65%

92.2% 6.7% 0.90%
93.0% 5.9% 1.1%
92.7% 6.3% 0.84%
90.6%
90.9%
95.1%
93.6%
95.3%
92.8%
93.9%
93.1%
92.6%
95.2%
91.5%
94.6%
93.5%
94.8%
94.7%
92.4%
92.7%
95.6%
96.3%
87.1%
81.3%
90.5%
90.9%
93.8%
94.2%
94.5%
91.5%
48.6%
7.7%
7.4%
3.6%
5.3%
3.7%
5.9%
4.5%
5.6%
6.3%
4.1%
7.6%
5.1%
4.6%
3.5%
3.6%
4.7%
5.4%
2.4%
2.0%
10.5%
14.7%
7.2%
6.7%
4.3%
3.9%
3.8%
6.3%
41.7%
0.79%
0.69%
0.87%
0.87%
0.74%
1.0%
1.4%
1.0%
0.89%
0.60%
0.81%
0.18%
0.77%
0.48%
0.50%
0.39%
0.84%
0.84%
0.85%
0.95%
1.5%
1.2%
1.1%
0.94%
0.92%
0.88%
1.1%
1.3%
95.2%
95.9%
95.6%
93.6%
96.0%
93.1%
97.8%
63.6%
47.0%
3.0%
2.8%
3.0%
3.9%
3.1%
2.7%
1.0%
27.7%
23.0%
0.98%
0.59%
0.80%
1.2%
0.17%
0.48%
0.43%
1.1%
26.0%

CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 281
CHARLEMAGNE,
S
ppm
1098
1083
3160
3307
157
4513
2855
Zn
Sn
ppm ppm
134
165
24
18
23
18
360
962
3.3
2.0
17
l
1087 1086
1207 202
"
~278
pBi
ppm
145
419
314
1187
120
208
130
237
I
[As [b
ppm ppm ppm
33
28
nd
5.0
19
7.8
4.3 27
3.8
46
65
6.4
1.6 6.4
8.5
2.4
11
nd
50
109
5.9
~2
47
7.6
137
5.0
26
117
3.6
1586 44 "90
583 20
34
67
4.3 38
1.5
JJ
1.2
"75
15
12
962
6/7
2194 105
5161 724
701 327
7339 964
779
13
155 152
299 201
820
126
1880 33
110 147
485 42
673 233
209
958
178
54
186 278
758
159
236
193
1383 110
748 42
_28 99
811 5.8
14
123
193 78
105 88
9428 1010 324 135
457
110
8478 446
8554 1775 789 170
154 40
23900 278
8540 1293 362 53
247 30
10747 463
6565 352
1348 290
6882 4228 2446 205
7138 7177 10039 223
430
121
8830 448
468 96
11391 530
3330 224
5077 915
5744 1988 1302 229
6872 534
495 217
1424 235
7661 974
3428 70149 7902 310
14
107
55
95
44
46
11
4.2
49 _28
33
6.2
60
54
24
9.9
39 J31
43
35
43
13
13
7.3
46
26
43
16
13
73
149 53
4.3 2.81
20
67
21
10.3
114 7.8
226 121
303 237
16
51
44 ^0
47
25
40
32
38
15
64
56
1024 1492
~
2.8
99
128 13
8059 "63
14
1.5
33
34
7047 28
1.0
16
5519 76
_74 3.5
1.0
13
12997 53
_50 4.7
46
8.9
1.9
10
7210 37
48
36647 313
_51 _31 3.9
15
2.8
148 8.6
8015 52
1124 258
14807 56050 3943 52
5686 23942 8354 153 422 297
47
~72
120
822
86
0
38
nd
7.0
6.7
4.8
9.6
6.6
8.3
13
3.2
20
nd
5.2
8.0
1.2
4A
8.0
15
29
32
1.8
2.9
2.6
4.3
0.65
13
88
12
1.1
nd
nd
4.6
3.9
7.5
61
67
fPd
ppm
0.87
1.0
1.5
1.1
2.3
0.81
3.7
1.4
2JS
2.8
~
Cd
ppm
0.24
nd
0.79
0.40
0.68
0.73
0.56
[Pt
ppm
0.15
0.47
0.45
0.40
0.22
0.64
0.27
7/7
0.30
0.48%
~
"l.l
0.52
nd
0.20
0.32
nd
22
0.12
0.02%
0.82
1.50
0.19
0.18
0.35
0.10
0.39
0.26
0.29
0.23
0.37
2.5
1.1
0.99
1.11
2.6
1.2
1.4
0.84
0.94
0.58
1.2
1.1
0.60
0.38
0.57
1.0
0.49
~
1.1
0.72
0.85
1.6
0.95
2.6
1.1
1.6
|o.69
2.2%
1.3%
0.03%
0.24%
0.09%
0.07%
0.39%
0.28%
0.17%
0.10%
0.01%
0.15%
2.1%
1.26%
4.70%
0.58%
2.3%
1.9%
1.7%
3.9%
4.7%
0.62%
0.79%
2.1%
4.8%
1.4%
1.5%
14.4%
60
3.6
1.2
0.39
1.9
0.19
0.79 0.23
1.0
0.29
0.73 0.37
8.2
4.5
0.83 0.61
0.26 0.52
0.72 0.31
0.29
1.1
2.1
3.9
0.7
0.56
0.86 0.72
0.38
1.1
2.9
7.3
3.4
6.6
6.2
3.2
3.9
8.0
6.0
9.2
4.7
5.7
1.0
0.30
2.2
0.51
1.1
0.47
2.3
6.3
0.67 0.35
1.2
1.1
6.5
69
4.1
2.9
5.5
6.0
2.1
2.5
3.3
5.5
14.8
_
Zn/(Zn+Cu)%
[
0.20%
0.04%
0.03%
0.87%
0.01%
0.04%
1.1%
7.4
7.7
10
9.8
6.5
6.4
1.1
4.9
13.4

0.01%
0.20%
0.01%
0.21%
0.10%
0.25%
0.14%
0.12%
1.1%
0.53%
16.8%
19.4%
SARAH
GUILLAUME
282
Reference King
Prou14
Charles
theBald
Prou15
Charles
theBald
MdP82
Charles
theBald
Prou16
Charles
theBald
Prou17
Charles
theBald
Prou18
Charles
theBald
Prou19
Charles
theBald
BnF18a
Charles
theBald
MdP83
theBald
Charles
MdP84
Charles
theBald
Prou20
Charles
theBald
Prou21
Charles
theBald
Prou22
Charles
theBald
Prou24
Charles
theBald
Prou25
theBald
Charles
Prou23
Charles
theBald
Prou40
Charlemagne
Prou41
Charlemagne
BnF1992- Charlemagne
128
Prou576
Charles
theBald
MdP87
Charles
theBald
Prou569
Charles
theBald
Prou570
Charles
theBald
MdP81
Charles
theBald
Prou572
Charles
theBald
Prou573
Charles
theBald
Prou574
Charles
theBald
Prou575
Charles
theBald
MdP75
Charles
theBald
Prou577
Charles
theBald
Prou578
Charles
theBald
Prou579
Charles
theBald
Prou580
Charles
theBald
Prou728
Charlemagne
Prou729
Charlemagne
Prou730
Charlemagne
Prou731
Charlemagne
Prou732
Charlemagne
Prou739
Charles
theBald
Prou740
Charles
theBald
Prou742
Charles
theBald
Prou741
theBald
Charles
Prou735
Charles
theBald
Prou736
Charles
theBald
Prou737
Charles
theBald
Prou738
Charles
theBald
Prou800
Charlemagne
Prou801
Charlemagne
Prou802
Charlemagne
Prou813
Charles
theBald
Prou814
Charles
theBald
Prou816
Charles
theBald
Prou817
Charles
theBald
BnF813a
Charles
theBald
Mint
TVpe
MonogramPalace
MonogramPalace
MonogramPalace
MonogramPalace
MonogramPalace
MonogramPalace
MonogramPalace
MonogramPalace
MonogramPalace
MonogramPalace
GDR
Palace
GDR
Palace
GDR
Palace
GDR
Palace
GDR
Palace
GDR
Palace
MonogramSens
MonogramSens
MonogramSens
d/obm(g) Ag%
d
1.58 69.7%
1.53 43.8%
d
d
1.61 57.9%
1.71 95.6%
d
d
1.60 95.7%
d
1.62 97.4%
d
1.67 95.0%
d
1.71 93.8%
d
1.64 94.5%
d
1.68 92.5%
d
1.55 95.0%
d
1.55 92.6%
d
1.77 95.0%
d
1.70 93.3%
d
1.58 92.7%
ob 0.56 90.0%
d
1.37 94.4%
d
1.65 91.4%
d
1.54 94.7%
d
1.64
MonogramSens
d
1.68
MonogramSens
2 lines
Sens
d
1.36
2 lines
Sens
d
1.23
2 lines
Sens
d
1.29
d
1.61
Temple Sens
d
1.62
Temple Sens
d
1.64
Temple Sens
d
1.42
Temple Sens
d
1.62
Temple Sens
GDR
Sens
d
1.63
GDR
Sens
d
1.67
GDR
Sens
d
1.47
GDR
Sens
d
1.72
1.59
MonogramBourges d
1.79
MonogramBourges d
1.69
MonogramBourges d
1.75
MonogramBourges d
1.65
MonogramBourges d
1.71
MonogramBourges d
1.76
MonogramBourges d
1.74
MonogramBourges d
MonogramBourges ob 0.57
Bust
1.22
Bourges d
Bust
1.45
Bourges d
Bust
1.36
Bourges d
Bust
1.07
Bourges d
1.62
MonogramToulouse d
1.40
MonogramToulouse d
1.51
MonogramToulouse d
1.61
MonogramToulouse d
1.42
MonogramToulouse d
1.51
MonogramToulouse d
1.64
MonogramToulouse d
MonogramToulouse |d 11.46
Cu % Pb %
25.8%
47.5%
34.5%
3.1%
2.8%
1.7%
3.8%
5.0%
3.8%
5.5%
3.9%
5.4%
4.6%
3.6%
3.7%
8.0%
5.0%
7.4%
3.0%
0.55%
1.2%
1.3%
0.85%
0.79%
0.26%
0.86%
0.48%
0.82%
0.98%
0.91%
1.9%
0.39%
1.5%
2.6%
0.69%
0.45%
0.82%
1.36%
67.8% 26.3% 0.71%

70.1% 24.3% 1.3%
63.0% 31.9% 0.64%
75.5% 17.8% 0.82%
56.5% 34.4% 0.67%
85.7% 10.3% 1.7%
73.2% 22.2% 1.0%
61.0% 32.4% 0.85%
60.7% 31.1% 1.2%
72.3% 22.7% 0.75%
94.3% 3.9% 1.8%
95.3% 4.0% 0.68%
72.9% 23.0% 1.3%
91.1% 6.9% 0.86%
94.7% 4.4% 0.78%
93.9% 5.0% 0.93%
94.5% 3.8% 1.4%
95.3% 3.8% 0.74%
95.2% 3.9% 0.71%
97.0% 1.3% 1.7%
94.0% 3.8% 1.2%
94.9% 3.7% 0.74%
43.7% 48.8% 1.3%
3.3% 94.8% 0.69%
81.1% 14.5% 1.0%
75.6% 20.8% 1.1%
82.0% 15.9% 0.10%
92.6% 6.2% 0.96%
92.9% 5.8% 0.85%
89.5% 8.9% 0.91%
71.9% 23.9% 0.85%
80.5% 16.0% 1.3%
71.2% 23.8% 1.0%
77.2% 18.8% 0.68%
172.1% 123.3% 11.07%

THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
CHARLES
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 283
CHARLEMAGNE,
U [
T [Bi
ppm ppm ppm ppm
11683 18363 8302 152
5330 46037 20581 170
4675 45549 10604 206
4629 18
10
94
72
6458 226
58
6044 14
_48 25
3778 16
_50 36
181 67
6824 467
8001 719
247 74
6850 2010 1476 143
949
420 74
66
59
256
156 93
19
12
13
106
14149 379
295 272
7499 1071 996 119
11257 1134 558 114
617 0.84 1.8
346
113 188
3136 120
4362 1827 2597 275
Ts Tb
I
ppm ppm ppm
70
395 356
2140 778
176
119
1371 473
17
7.5
3.0
10
3.6
9.6
_3J 1.47 3.8
14
2.47 4.0
26
4.41 6.1
30 JO
2.4
112 37
8.7
40
3.0
1_J_
2.4
_31 J2
0.39
3.8 2.0
29
6.6
1.4
78
38
4/7
80
39
J2
0.80 9.0
13
4.9
6.4 28
14
23
76
286
205
234
383
225
220
246
335
292
253
_65
110
329
298
153
220
82
231
209
23
303
S6
nd
nd
373
533
127
205
191
169
2115
867
369
203
[836
nd
nd
d
1012 312
75
3345 342
67
3118 416
43
2108 349
74
14
815 165
67
1335 178
133
1631 376
101
2330 920
63
939 183
24 _52
0.56
0.94
35
3.9
198
1082 341
5.9
59
25
nd
3.3 2.0
20
10
nd
nd
6.4 5.1
0.44
5.0 4.3
4.4 4.3
3.4
1.17 4.61 5.23
11
0.37
36
nd
2.7 001
nd
2780 499
952 1552 nd
21
594 298
12
944 259
0.04
184 154
6.8
24
34
9
3S
43
6.5
28 _48
67
1028 234
16
928 479
nd
184 166
29
219 77
1746 1280 159
8377 4042 3913

6104 27987 7318
5384 32641 2695
3691 44560 6490
1754 78486 1914
6361 12993 2294
4705 27352 2323
4143 43825 6887
3958 59324 3194
13957 24032 2495
219
43
66
22
49
J30
10872 9481 5368
7918 1457 1698
8.0
742 4.3
14
25
738
1859 21
_35
10
1253 2.4
14
742 2.0
41
6019 12
507
8773 245
19
6327 49
3290 47667 5484
1688
7082 nd
3847 23663 5343
2772 15282 4679
1579 16212 1308
218
1283 277
1318
1320 461
966 5620 176
722 23245 5368
4061 9004 6045
5052 25685 8169
6410 24174 2126
3251 21850 5964
[Pd
ppm
5.0
9.9
5.0
2.7
3.0
33
4.2
4,5
3.0
2.7
5.1
7.6
5.0
5.4
7.0
53
2/7
2.9
5.6
[
ppm
5.7
5.7
3.7
6.4
6.9
12
11
JJ
7.1
7.0
J]
10
8.9
9.4
9.8
_8J>
0.24
0.31
11
[Pt
ppm
L3
0.92
0.58
0.75
1.03
JJ
0.83
AJ
0.98
0.97
_L2
L2
0.43
1.27
0.91
0.88
0.19
0.79
0.68
urw
Zn/(Zn+Cu)%
_
6.6%
8.8%
11.7%
0.06%
0.79%
0.08%
0.04%
0.93%
1.9%
3.5%
2.35%
0.47%
0.03%
1.0%
2.8%
1.4%
<0.01%
0.16%
5.7%
nd
nd
~rT~ 13.2%
5.4
5.4
1.6
10.3%
20
10
1.5 9.3%
12
13
0.82 20.0%
0.29 18.6%
45
3.4
3.2
6.0
0.76 11.2%
0.71 11.0%
4.4
4.6
4.8
0.69 11.9%
5.7
5.8
_5J 0.63 16.0%
9.6%
5
6J
JJ
11
1.05 0.56%
5.5
4.0
9.5
0.79 0.08%
11
8.9
0.95 4.0%
0.93 2.1%
5.0
9.1
23
0.20 0.39 0.01%
3.3
0.84 0.64 0.03%
0.79 0.61 0.05%
3.0
0.39 0.45 0.01%
2.4
2.7
0.21 0.33 0.01%
1.20 0.38 0.82 0.09%
1.7
0.41 1.1
0.64%
0.46 0.95 0.13%
1.5
nd
nd
nd
8.9%
nd
nd
nd
nd
9.42 12
0.89 14.0%
1.6
0.57 0.30 6.8%
0.46 0.11 0.32 9.3%
0.51 0.42 0.45%
2.4
0.38 0.31 0.79%
2.8
4.0
0.31 0.34 6.0%
0.45 0.28 8.9%
2.2
1.8
0.65 0.62 5.3%
0.22 0.15 9.7%
0.9
0.74 0.65 11.4%
2.3
12.2 10.28 0.27 8.6%

284
GUILLAUME
SARAH
Mint
d/obm(g)
Reference King
Type
1.65
BnF813b
Charles
theBald MonogramToulouse d
1.55
BnF813c
Charles
BnF814a
1.42
Charles
1.56
BnF814b
Charles
BnF814c
1.53
Charles
1.34
BnF814d
Charles
1.43
BnF814e
Charles
1.62
BnF814f
Charles
BnF814g
1.62
Charles
1.62
MdP99
Charles
0.72
Prou815
Charles
BnF817a
Charles
theBald MonogramToulouse ob 0.88
BnF817b
Charles
theBald MonogramToulouse ob 0.87
d
1.67
Prou688
Charles
theBald MonogramMelle
Prou692
Charles
d
1.68
d
1.55
Prou693
Charles
d
1.57
Prou694
Charles
Prou695
Charles
d
1.61
Prou696
d
1.58
Charles
Prou697
Charles
d
1.67
Prou698
d
1.55
Charles
BnF698a
Charles
d
1.64
BnF698b
d
1.49
Charles
MdP93
Charles
d
1.49
MdP94
Charles
d
1.47
MdP95
Charles
d
1.57
Prou703
Charles
ob 0.83
Prou704
Charles
ob 0.81
Prou705
Charles
ob 0.80
BnF703a
Charles
ob 0.86
MdP97
Charles
ob 0.83
MdP98
Charles
ob 0.80
BnF1996-115Charles
d
1.51
Prou702
Charles
d
1.14
Prou699
Charles
1.59
d
Prou700
Charles
d
1.62
Prou701
Charles
d
1.70
MdP89
Charles
d
1.61
MdP90
Charles
d
1.74
MdP91
Charles
d
1.56
MdP92
Charles
d
1.63
BnF705a
Charles
ob 0.78
Prou706
Charles
ob 0.76
Prou707
Charles
ob 0.93
Prou708
Charles
ob 0.74
MdP96
Charles
ob 0.81
Prou726
Charles
theBald 2 lines
Melle
d
1.59
Prou727
theBald I2 lines
1.47
ICharles
| Melle
Id
Ag%
73.6%
78.2%
82.9%
68.3%
72.5%
57.9%
73.5%
72.1%
75.9%
65.5%
70.2%
94.5%
93.9%
95.5%
93.9%
95.2%
94.6%
94.8%
89.3%
92.3%
92.8%
94.5%
95.7%
94.6%
93.2%
94.1%
93.6%
95.4%
92.7%
94.1%
93.6%
93.2%
60.4%
26.6%
93.2%
90.6%
92.0%
92.3%
91.8%
92.3%
91.9%
94.5%
90.8%
92.7%
90.6%
89.3%
84.0%
80.7%

Cu % Pb %
24.5%
20.5%
12.7%
27.9%
26.1%
37.1%
25.0%
26.1%
22.1%
30.7%
28.3%
3.4%
3.7%
3.5%
5.4%
3.7%
4.2%
4.0%
8.9%
7.3%
6.1%
4.8%
3.8%
4.2%
5.3%
4.1%
5.2%
3.7%
6.5%
4.5%
4.7%
4.9%
37.5%
67.2%
5.5%
6.8%
6.4%
5.4%
5.6%
5.6%
5.9%
4.4%
7.5%
5.9%
7.6%
8.5%
15.6%
18.5%
0.45%
0.75%
0.85%
0.57%
0.58%
0.71%
0.65%
0.65%
0.73%
0.94%
0.53%
0.67%
0.66%
0.81%
0.68%
0.97%
1.1%
1.2%
1.7%
0.40%
1.1%
0.64%
0.50%
1.2%
1.5%
1.8%
1.1%
0.67%
0.68%
1.2%
1.7%
1.7%
0.75%
1.0%
0.91%
1.5%
0.66%
1.3%
2.2%
1.1%
1.1%
0.41%
0.93%
0.54%
0.58%
0.99%
0.29%
0.60%
CHARLES
THEBALDANDTHEKAROWS
MONOGRAM
COINAGE. 285
CHARLEMAGNE,
~ Tn Tn
ppm ppm ppm
593
10487 1540
421 286
682
1498 9216 8314
1231 21614 4955
360 3240 1225
2232 32153 4956
439 3288 1995
683 5333 864
1126 6903 2288
1600 18979 4477
578 2864 585
7897 4594 1560
17761 5.7
8.6
400 61
2067
6.4
nd
2.6
469 2.5
4.2
U
2.6
0.67
16
1.1
0.9
5.2
nd
8.0
41
2.6
2.2
3.9
2.0
1.4
24
759 25
24
12
3.8
3.9
4.7
3.2
22
25
^0
17
21
7.0
21
162
4.1
122 23
49
12
3.9
16
98
0.54 3.1
224
7.5
13
1180 158
220
488 7959 691
877 43685 4759
24
2594 42
1179
8054 nd
465
8300 464
445
8215 865
19
2841 139
8489 1014 578
5933 1608 2672
6049 73
_91
1291
6101 569
498
7227 427
513
6710 758
6539 3753 1561
591
497 27
503 [496 [315
[Bi
ppm
1390
2193
1678
1035
2441
573
2064
2796
1774
1359
2148
333
35
135
78
140
52
176
312
29
87
175
118
30
S6
75
90
198
111
96
80
250
432
87
301
nd
91
108
316
124
107
891
197
216
120
181
80
561
Ts Tb
Ti
ppm ppm ppm
557 185
35
462 375
15
7462 588
161
1019 224
76
260 62
J36
967 306
51
195 209
45
708 375
34
528 259
54
1276 226
76
14
820 624
17
193 20
3.6 0.85 4.8
11
24
nd
48
9.7
nd
001 24
nd
14
15
nd
4.2
15
nd
186
nd
18
9A 43
nd
12
6.9 5.1
9.6 7.7
nd
1.9 7.0
nd
4.5
347 7.4
20
85
17.2
6.6
152 44
21
37
nd
0.57
37
178
70 _53 _nd
4.5
47
440
15
6.9
13
31
69
2.4
2971 322
66
152
1012 763
nd
3.5 4.2
nd
nd
nd
21
nd
51
14
3.0
33
2.0
7.2 10
4.3
46
18
6.5
57 _25
nd
5.5
32
nd
52 J28
13
nd
39
20
nd
40
126 59
16.0
20
83
137
3.9
1116 69
[Pd
ppm
1.3
0.4
5.2
2.7
nd
43
0.8
0.61
0.83
5.5
0.07
3.9
2.7
2.8
0.96
0.52
1.5
1.8
2.5
2.0
2.7
2.0
1.7
2.9
3.5
2.9
3.0
3.2
2.7
2.2
4.3
4.2
1.3
21
1.3
nd
3.8
4.2
4.6
3.9
3.0
2A
.1
_3
3.0
3.2
4.1
4.3
7.1
Cd
ppm
0.27
0.32
0.47
0.43
nd
nd
nd
0.2
0.31
5.7
0.28
6.3
7.0
0.38
nd
0.35
0.15
0.19
0.06
0.11
0.11
0.38
0.21
6.7
6.4
6.1
0.23
0.36
nd
nd
8.8
8.3
nd
0.6
0.49
nd
0.55
7.9
7.7
7.6
6.2
0.68
0.53
0.59
1.8
8.2
nd
0.32
Pt
ppm
0.24
0.27
0.52
0.27
0.11
nd
0.38
0.18
0.25
0.33
0.31
0.96
1.6
0.24
nd
0.24
nd
0.13
nd
nd
nd
0.35
0.22
nd
nd
0.2
0.06
0.43
0.08
nd
nd
0.31
nd
0.13
0.41
nd
1.8
1.2
0.6
1.2
0.80
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.0
1.2
0.36
0.42

~ //f_
,
Zn/(Zn+Cu)%
_
4.1%
0.14%
6.8%
7.2%
1.2%
8.0%
1.3%
2.0%
3.0%
5.8%
1.0%
11.9%
0.02%
0.18%
nd
0.01%
0.01%
<0.01%
nd
<0.01%
<0.01%
0.05%
0.01%
0.01%
0.04%
0.02%
0.01%
0.06%
0.01%
<0.01%
0.03%
0.32%
2.08%
6.10%
0.08%
nd
0.72%
1.6%
0.25%
1.8%
2.6%
0.17%
0.76%
0.72%
0.98%
4.2%
0.02%
0.27%
SARAH
GUILLAUME
286
KEY
No.
1
2
3
j4
_5
6
7
S
_9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
TO PLATES
Mint
Reference
Prou
791
Agen
792
Prou
Agen
Prou
793
Agen
794
Prou
Agen
MdP
88
Agen
795
Prou
Agen
BnF
Agen
1983-44
Dax
Prou798
Pax
Prou799
Beauvais Prou255
Beauvais Prou256
Beauvais Prou257
Beauvais Prou258
Beauvais MdP85
Beauvais MdP86
Beauvais BnF255a
ClermontProu764
ClermontProu765
ClermontProu766
ClermontProu768
ClermontProu769
ClermontProu767
ClermontProu770
ClermontProu771
ClermontBnF767a
Limoges BnF776a
Nevers Prou595
Nevers Prou593
Nevers Prou594
Noyon Prou952
Noyon Prou953
Noyon Prou954
Palace
Prou12
Palace
Prou13
Palace
Prou14
Palace
Prou15
Palace
MdP82
Palace
Prou16
Palace
Prou17
Palace
Prou18
Palace
Prou19
BnF18a
Palace
Palace
MdP83
Palace
MdP84
Palace
Prou20
Palace
Prou21
No.
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
Mint
Palace
Palace
Palace
Palace
Sens
Sens
Sens
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Sens
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Bourges
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Reference
Prou22
Prou24
Prou25
Prou23
Prou40
Prou41
BnF
1992-128
Prou576
MdP87
Prou569
Prou570
MdP81
Prou574
Prou575
MdP75
Prou573
Prou572
Prou577
Prou578
Prou579
Prou580
Prou728
Prou729
Prou730
Prou731
Prou732
Prou739
Prou740
Prou742
Prou741
Prou735
Prou736
Prou737
Prou738
Prou800
Prou801
Prou802
Prou813
Prou814
Prou816
Prou817
BnF813a
BnF813b
BnF813c
BnF814a
BnF814b
No.
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
Mint
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
Melle
134 Melle
135 Melle
136 Melle

Reference
BnF814c
BnF814d
BnF814e
BnF814f
BnF814g
MdP99
Prou815
BnF817a
BnF817b
Prou688
Prou692
Prou693
Prou694
Prou695
Prou696
Prou697
Prou698
BnF698a
BnF698b
MdP93
MdP94
MdP95
Prou703
Prou704
Prou705
BnF703a
MdP97
MdP98
Prou699
Prou700
Prou701
MdP89
MdP90
MdP91
MdP92
BnF705a
Prou706
Prou707
Prou708
MdP96
BnF
1996-115
Prou702
Prou726
Prou727
PLATE 15
SARAH, CHARLEMAGNE,CHARLES THE BALD AND THE

KAROLUS MONOGRAM COINAGE (1)

PLATE 16
SARAH,CHARLEMAGNE,CHARLES THE BALD AND THE


PLATE 17


PLATE 18


PLATE 19


PLATE 20


PLATE 21



Charlemagne, Charles The Bald and The 'Karolus' Monogram Coinage: A Multi-Disciplinary Study / Guillaume Sarah

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Charlemagne, Charles The Bald and The 'Karolus' Monogram Coinage: A Multi-Disciplinary Study / Guillaume Sarah

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The

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FIG. I. The Karolus monogram(representedwitha chevron

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coins afterthedeathof CharlestheBald.12Some mighteven be attributable

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have bothproposed a chronologyforthesetypes,26

FIG. 2. Evolutionof thesilverfinenessof theCarolingiancoins fromPippinthe

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FIG. 3. Gold contentversusthezinc contentfortheKarolus monogramcoins of

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FIG. 4. Comparisonof thefinenessof theKarolus monogramcoins fromAgen

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This content downloaded from 83.85.130.64 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 15:08:20 PM

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date remainsuncertain.This would mean, followingthe rule statedpreviously,that

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FIG. 6. Comparison of the fineness of the Karolus monogram coins from

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the name of a cityand its location is uncertain,thoughLafaurie suggestedSenlis.56

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FIG. 8. Comparison of the finenessof the Karolus monogramcoins fromthe

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cantonnede quatrepoints,a t utilisjusqu'en 864 pour les deniersau temple'.60

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even thoughthereis no available data forthe time of Charlemagne,is emphasised

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two othervarieties,thecoins withthemintname in two lines and thosewiththemint

FIG. 10. Comparison of the fineness of the Karolus monogram coins

This content downloaded from 83.85.130.64 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 15:08:20 PM

This content downloaded from 83.85.130.64 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 15:08:20 PM

Hoards indicatethateach group of coins is linked to one ruler:the BITVRICAS

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FIG. 12. Comparison of the silver finenessof the Karolus monogramcoins

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FIG. 14. Comparison of the silver finenessof the Karolus monogramcoins

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its position between ellipses B and D is unusual, consideringthatthe majorityof

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centuryas at Fcamp.92Withouthoard contextindividualcoins cannotbe attributed

1 +CARLVSREXFR +METVLLO Karolusmonogram+METVLLO

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FIG. 16. Comparison of the silver finenessof the Karolus monogramcoins

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legends except forthe small characteristiccross, is of similarfineness.Even though

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