Uncertain. Circa 1100-1150. Denaro (Billon, 17 mm, 1.12 g), imitating a Denaro from Lucca. Uncertain mint, struck in the name of Henry IV or V, 1056-1125. IMPMΛↄOSM around monogram H. Rev. HTVTIVNC[...] around LVCA around central dot. Cf. Biaggi 1058 and MIR 109 (for prototype). Cecchinato/Sissia/Vagnini -. Extremely rare. Some deposits, otherwise, very fine.



The Lucca denari bearing the large H on the obverse were widely accepted and imitated throughout Italy and far beyond its borders. Their circulation must have extended into the Levant as well. For example, they formed a substantial component of a larger hoard unearthed in Syria in the 1950s (cf. Marcus Phillips: A parcel of coins from the Near East, The Numismatic Chronicle 181 (2021), p. 441).

While the minting of Lucca itself is comparatively well studied, the imitations produced outside of Italy remain far less understood. The present piece is struck with a spurious legend, a feature typical of unofficial or secondary issues, and therefore cannot at this stage be assigned to any specific region, let alone to an identifiable mint. However, the overwhelming number of Levantine issues that imitate Italian coinage of the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries makes it highly plausible that this piece, too, is a Levantine imitation.