Denier - Arduin of Ivrea Pavia mint, IN CRACIA REX

Arduin of Ivrea was crowned King of Italy at Pavia in February 1002, following the death of Otto III, but his reign was contested from the start. Henry II of Germany invaded twice; by 1004 Arduin had been driven from Pavia entirely after the city was burned — whether by his own forces or Henry's remains disputed in the sources. He abdicated in 1014 and died in a monastery. The window for striking coin in his name at Pavia was narrow, probably concentrated in the first two years before the city changed hands.