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Denier - Charlemagne St. Maurice Abbey of Tours
| Issuer | Abbey of Saint-Martin de Tours (Carolingian Royal Mint) |
|---|---|
| Year | 771-793 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents the abbreviated mint or saintly dedication legend SCI MAVR (Sancti Mauricii — Saint Maurice) arranged in a circular pattern around a central decorative rosette or multi-petalled floral motif. The rosette, composed of radiating arms interspersed with pellets, is a hallmark device of the Tours mint type under Charlemagne. The legend characters are rendered in Carolingian majuscule script and distributed between the arms of the central motif. A beaded border encircles the entire design, framing the composition on the irregular hammered flan. |
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| Additional information |
The Abbey of Saint-Martin de Tours held exceptional standing in the Carolingian realm — Alcuin, Charlemagne's foremost scholar, served as its abbot from 796. But the mint predates even that appointment. Tours operated as a royal mint under direct Carolingian authority during the critical years when Charlemagne was consolidating Frankish monetary policy, replacing the fragmented Merovingian coinage system with a unified silver denier standard mandated by the reforms of circa 755-793.
The Prou reference returns no attribution for this type — a meaningful absence in the standard corpus.