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Denier - Louis I Bourges mint
| Issuer | Unified Carolingian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 818-823 |
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| Currency | Pound (751-843) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ✠ HLVDOVVICVS IMP (Translation: Louis, emperor.) |
| Reverse description | The mint name BITVRIGES, denoting the ancient Roman city of Avaricum (modern Bourges), is displayed across the field in two horizontal lines reading BITV above RIGES, with a central pellet serving as a word separator between the two elements. The lettering is rendered in large, bold Carolingian capitals filling the entire reverse field without a surrounding legend, a format characteristic of Carolingian regional mint issues. The flan edge is irregular and slightly ragged, consistent with hammered coinage of the early ninth century. The flat, unadorned field emphasises the stark typographic design typical of Louis the Pious's monetary reform coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Louis I — "the Pious" — inherited Charlemagne's empire intact in 814 but spent much of his reign managing the consequences of his own 817 succession decree, the Ordinatio Imperii, which attempted to preserve imperial unity by designating his son Lothair co-emperor. The political turbulence that followed, including open rebellion by his sons, created administrative pressures that touched every corner of the empire including its mints. The Bourges workshop, operating under the archbishopric of Berry, was one of the more productive regional strikes of this period.