The portrait confirms that Charlemagne had a short neck. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. A rare 1,200-year-old silver coin ...

Left: A 19th-Century Portrait of Charlemagne. Right: A 1749 painting of Westminster Abbey. Photo: Stefano Bianchetti/Corbis via Getty Images; Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images ...

In Albrecht Dürer’s idealized, early-16th-century portrait of Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor wears a dazzling crown. The diadem, topped by a cross, was itself very real.

A SUPER rare silver coin depicting one of the only known portraits of the emperor Charlemagne during his lifetime was found on a farm in France after 1,200 years.