The coinage of Vienne is usually very common. The earlier coinage, the grand deniers are scarcer. But this grand denier, minted most likely under Thibaut as Sire and Bishop is extremely rare. Thibaut came from the royal family of Burgundy and ruled Vienne from cca. 957 to his death in 1001. His coinage is usually nominal, but this issue is anonymous. Poey d'Avant considers these coins (#4818 and #4819) later than the ones bearing the bishop's name, on account of their lower weight and "feudal" style, so they likely date to around 1000. AR21x19mm 1g silver grand denier, minted at Vienne cca. 1000. + VIENNA CV; cross + SCI MAVRIC ⠂ ; dot in middle of plain field. Poey d'Avant #4818 Pl. CVI 7, not in Boudeau. Another example was recorded by M. Morin and Poey d'Avant, described in Poey d'Avant's work (Pl. CVI 7), and was in the collection of the Grenoble Museum, while another was sold privately in France in the summer of 2019. Possibly, the plain field with the dot in the middle was inspired by the silver Fatimid half dirham of the mid 10th century, something similar to this coin of al-Mu'izz al-Din Allah of the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt. The plain field with no design is not unique to Vienne at this particularly interesting time in history -- the beginning of the feudal organization in Western Europe -- a similar and also very rare grand denier, also dated to around 1000, was minted by the Bishopric of Langres. This is one of those series that require more specimens and research.
That's interesting. The reverse design seems quite unusual to me, and I wonder what message it was meant to convey. Thanks for posting this coin and write-up! I only got one of the abundant later bread-and-butter Vienne deniers: Archbishopric of Vienne, anonymous issue, AR denier, 12th–13th century AD. Obv: .+.S.M.VIENNA; bearded head of St. Mauritius l. Rev: MAXIMA.GALL; cross pattée with pellets in quadrangles. 18mm, 0.88g. Ref: Bourdeau 1045–1046.
It might add to an indirect hint about the use/acceptance of Fatimid silver up to around Vienne. A very possible scenario considering that the dotted Islamic coinage was at its zenith around 950-1000.
Yes, this seems to be a good medieval for those who don't really collect medievals but want a few common and cheaper ones. I was attracted to mine by the portrait style which is at least different from the others I see from that era.
