King Offa of Mercia

King Offa's coins featured the Islamic declaration 'No God but Allah.' This example is the only one known to exist.

King Offa of Mercia, who reigned between 757AD and 796AD, minted hundreds of Gold dinars featuring his name and the Islamic declaration of faith. The Anglo-Saxon moneyer who made this coin clearly did not understand Arabic. The Arabic inscription is upside down in relation to Offa’s name, and there is abundant evidence Offa was Christian, not Muslim.

This gold coin might have been one of 365 gold coins Offa reportedly sent to the pope in Rome. Offa may have chosen to mint the gold dinar because it was the dominant coinage in the Mediterranean in this period.