Denier - Charlemagne Arles mint, CARLVS

This denier belongs to Charlemagne's earliest coinage, struck before the monetary reforms of the 770s and 780s that would eventually standardize weight and module across the Frankish realm. The Arles mint had deep roots under the Merovingians and continued operating into the early Carolingian period, though it was among the mints curtailed as Charlemagne progressively consolidated minting authority away from regional centers toward royal control. The CARLVS legend places this firmly in the pre-imperial phase — Charlemagne would not be crowned emperor until 800, nearly three decades after these earliest issues left the Arles dies.