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The coin was sold by a Frenchman who wanted to build a house, but he did not have enough money. He remembered that he had inherited a collection of coins from his farmer grandfather. After looking through this collection, the man found a Charlemagne coin known as a denarius and put it up for auction on eBay.
Representatives of the group of municipal museums Route Charlemagne in Aachen (Germany ) decided to take part in the auction and receive a coin with the image of Charlemagne and his imperial title: “Emperor August”. This title was used by Charlemagne in imitation of Emperor Octavian Augustus, the first Roman emperor. This title was used by many emperors of the Roman Empire.
Charlemagne, who ruled from 768 to 814 AD, was known as the king of the Franks and the first ruler to unite Western and Central Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. Through his political power, military power, and close ties to the Vatican, Charlemagne in 800 AD. during the Christmas mass was crowned by the Roman emperor. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the portrait of this coin he is really depicted as a Roman emperor.
The headdress of the king has a laurel wreath, which was very unusual for Frankish kings. The portrait also shows that Charlemagne had a round face, mustache and short neck. The reverse side of the coin depicts a building with a Christian cross, which looks like a cross between a Roman temple and a church.
In total, there are about 50 dinars with a portrait of Charlemagne, created during his lifetime, and most of them have only the name of the ruler, without a portrait.
The reverse side of the coin depicts a building with a Christian cross, which looks like a cross between a Roman temple and a church.
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Where and when was the coin minted? The coin was most likely minted in Aachen due to the importance of the city, since that is where Charlemagne was born and died. But the date of its minting remains a mystery. After being crowned Roman emperor, he did not immediately use the title “Emperor Augustus” found on the coin. Even though he had already been crowned in 800, he did not use that title until 812. And all because it was somehow connected with his diplomatic relations with Byzantium.
Instead, Charlemagne used the title “Emperor Governing the Roman Empire”. It was not until 812, when the Byzantine Empire recognized Charlemagne’s emperorship, that he began to use the title found on the coin, making this a possible minting date for the banknote.
The coin may also have been minted in 813, when Charlemagne’s son, Louis I the Pious, was appointed co-emperor and had a similar coinage. Charlemagne was ill during the last three or four years of his life, i.e. around 810-814, and was especially concerned about the future of the empire. He left only one son, whom he appointed co-emperor in 813. One theory is that the coins with the portrait were created in the last year of his life. That is, at a time when he was probably striving for an orderly succession.
Another idea is that these coins were specifically intended to celebrate the coronation of an emperor and therefore did not serve as money like other dinars of Charlemagne, which exist in much larger numbers without a portrait and imperial title.
Recall that in January of this year, a treasury of 1600-year-old Roman coins was found in Spain . But what is most surprising is that the discovery was made by a small badger who was very hungry and was trying to find food for himself.
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