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March 22, 2003

Offa's Gold

Apropos nothing, I stumbled across this fascinating piece of British history while helping with some homework research. King Offa of Mercia (757-796 AD, most famous for his Dyke, and for the silver penny which remained the English standard for 600 years) also minted a gold coin with the inscription "There is no God except Allah... Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah". Here's a picture.