Huszár 547 var., Pohl 89-1 var., Unger 432a var., Réthy II 89A var.

Hungary. Louis I (Lajos I, in Hun.) (1342-1382). AR denar.

Obv: + MOnETA LODOVICI, Saracen head left.

Rev: + MOnETA LODOVICI, Patriarchal cross with random pellets.

The type was struck 1373-1382 (per Huszár, Pohl & Unger, although Huszár later wrote that the Saracen-head coinage incepted in 1372). Those without a privy mark were struck in Pécs by Johannes Saracenus (per Pohl).

Huszár/Pohl rarity rating 3. This is an uncommon variety of the emission, in that the standard obverse legend appears on both the obverse and the reverse of the coin. It is neither described nor depicted in any of the catalogs.

The Saracen's head is a pun on the surname of Jacobus Saracenus (Szerechen, in Hun.) and his brother, Johannes, courtiers of Italian descent who were ennobled by Louis. The image of a Saracen's head appeared on their coat of arms. Jacobus became the kammergraf at the Pécs mint in 1352, and the Comes Camerarum Regalium in 1369. He died in the early 1370s, at which time Johannes succeeded him as kammergraf.