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Denier - Leo IV and emperor Lothair I PIVS monogram
| Issuer | Papal States |
|---|---|
| Year | 847-855 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central field occupied by the Carolingian PIVS monogram, composed of interlaced capital letters forming a decorative cipher within a plain inner circle, a device widely used on Carolingian imperial coinage to denote the emperor's epithet. The monogram is surrounded by a beaded border, beyond which the outer legend reads PIVS and HLOTHARIVS IP, identifying Lothair I as pious emperor and affirming the joint authority of pope and emperor on this issue. The legend is separated by a cross and arranged in the customary circular fashion of ninth-century Frankish-influenced papal deniers. The flan is irregular and the strike somewhat uneven, consistent with hammered production at the Rome mint during this period. |
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| Additional information |
Leo IV's pontificate was defined almost entirely by the Arab sack of St. Peter's Basilica in 846, the very event that prompted his famous construction of the Leonine Wall to fortify the Vatican. The joint coinage with Lothair I reflects a political arrangement rather than genuine shared authority — Leo needed Frankish military backing, and Lothair needed papal legitimacy following the fratricidal wars that had split the Carolingian empire after Louis the Pious died in 840.
Lothair died in 855, making this a narrow eight-year window for the type.