AR denier, 21mm, 1.31g. Obv: +HLVDOVVICVS IIP, central cross. Rev: +VEN/ECIAS. Mint is Venice. R1158v; MG 456v (which has 'IMP,' the more typical ending of the obverse legend); MEC 789; not in Dep (who sticks to French mints).

The lagoons of  Venetia had been a refuge during times of barbarian invasions of Italy. People took refuge here in the 5th C when the Huns came through and again in the middle of the 6th C as the Lombards came into Italy. This latter invasion was more permanent and the Lombard presence eroded Byzantine control over Italy and Venetia. In the 8th C the office of Doge (Dux) came into being as in indication of growing Venetian independence from Byzantine control. Venice began to separate itself from the mainland and establish itself as a maritime power. On the mainland, the pope was pressed by the Lombards and invited Charlemagne's help. He conquered the Lombards and extended his territorial grasp, in the person of his son Pippin, to Venice. Venice was torn between looking westward or remaining Byzantine in focus. The Byzantine empire mustered its forces against the Carolingians and in return for their recognition of him as emperor of the west, Charlemagne did not press the issue. This coin dates from the brief period of Carolingian hegemony in Italy. Louis the Pious is a son of Charlemagne.