Denier - Louis III l'Aveugle Lyon

Louis III — called "the Blind" after his capture by Berengar I of Italy in 902, who had him blinded as punishment for seizing the Italian crown — ruled Lower Burgundy and briefly claimed the imperial title before that mutilation ended his political ambitions entirely. This denier dates to his reign prior to that catastrophe, struck at Lyon when the city functioned as a key Carolingian mint serving the Rhône corridor. Lyon's output during this period was substantial enough to supply commercial traffic between the Mediterranean and the Frankish heartland, which accounts for the relative frequency with which these pieces appear in hoards along that route.