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Gold imitation dinar of Offa
Kingdom of Mercia, England, AD 773-96
An Islamic inscription on an English coin
This unique gold coin of Offa, king of Mercia, is one of the
most remarkable English coins of the Middle Ages. It is remarkable
because it imitates a gold dinar of the caliph al-Mansur,
ruler of the Islamic cAbbasid dynasty. Although the
Arabic inscription is not copied perfectly, it is close enough that
it is clear that the original from which it was copied was struck
in the Islamic year AH 157 (AD 773-74). It seems that the engraver
had no understanding of the Arabic script: the name and title OFFA
REX has been inserted upside down in relation to the Arabic
inscription.
The purpose of the coin is uncertain. It has been suggested that
it was made as a gift for the pope (it was first recorded in Rome),
but it is unlikely that any Christian king would have sent the pope
a coin with and inscription stating that 'there is no God but Allah
alone', however badly the Arabic had been copied. It is more likely
that it was designed for use in trade; Islamic gold dinars were the
most important coinage in the Mediterranean at the time. Offa's
coin looked enough like the original that it would be readily
accepted in southern Europe, while at the same time his own name
was clearly visible.
C.E. Blunt, 'The coinage of Offa' in Anglo-Saxon coins (London, Methuen, 1961)
L. Webster and J. Backhouse, The making of England: Anglo-S, exh. cat. (London, The British Museum Press, 1991)