This gold coin, called King Offa's Gold Dinar was minted in the medieval period around 773 or 774 CE in the Kingdom of Mercia during the reign of King Offa. It features an Arabic and Latin inscription 'Offa Rex', which is odd for Anglo-Saxon coinage. However, the Arabic inscription "there is no God but Allah alone" is written upside down, suggesting that the coins inscriber did not understand the language and was merely trying to copy off of an Abbasid Dinar from the same period. The coin is unusual, because it was minted by a Christian Mercian king and because this coin is the only example found. Multiple theories on the coins origin are discussed, including the suggestion that it was a gift to the Pope Adrian I. But the most likely explanation is that the gold dinar was popular in the Byzantine Empire and throughout Europe, and Offa wanting to trade with these other territories, had familiar looking coins minted for use in these areas.
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