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Denier - Gregory IV and emperor Louis I monogram
| Issuer | Papal States |
|---|---|
| Year | 827-840 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.66 g |
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| Obverse description | Central field occupied by the papal monogram of Gregory IV, composed of interlaced letters within a beaded inner circle. The monogram is rendered in bold relief in the Carolingian style, with letters arranged in a cruciform pattern. A circumscribed Latin legend reading GREGORIVS * SCS PETRVS runs between the inner beaded circle and the outer border, invoking both the pope's name and the patronage of Saint Peter. The flan is irregular in shape, characteristic of ninth-century hammered coinage, with some areas of weakness at the periphery. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | GREGORIVS * SCS PETRVS (Translation: Gregory. Saint Peter.) |
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| Additional information |
Gregory IV's pontificate coincided almost entirely with the reign of Louis the Pious, and this joint-monogram coinage reflects the Carolingian practice of papal currency operating under imperial sanction — a political arrangement formalized under Charlemagne that required the pope to strike coins bearing the emperor's cipher alongside his own. When Louis died in 840, the arrangement fractured immediately as his three sons plunged the Frankish empire into civil war. Papal coinage would not carry an imperial monogram again in quite this form.