Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Obol - Louis I christian legend
| Issuer | Unified Carolingian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 814-818 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Diademed and draped bust of Louis the Pious facing right, rendered in a stylised Carolingian manner with a radiate or laurel crown suggested by striated lines. The effigy occupies the central field, with the encircling Latin legend reading HLVDOVVICVS IMP AVG distributed around the periphery. The portrait displays the characteristic flat, linear style of early ninth-century Frankish die-cutting. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | HLVDOVVICVS IMP ΛVG (Translation: Louis, august emperor.) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Struck in the opening years of Louis the Pious's reign, this obol belongs to the transitional coinage that followed Charlemagne's death in January 814. The Christian legend type reflects a deliberate religious emphasis Louis pursued to distinguish his rule — he had already earned his epithet through conspicuous piety before he inherited the throne. At roughly half the weight of the contemporary denier, these obols saw intense everyday use and survive in fine condition only rarely.