Picture from the British Museum | Β© Trustees of the British Museum
During the 8th Century - often regarded as the Golden Era of Islam - the Islamic Abbasid dynasty was a global superpower and a respected sovereign as reflected by the importance of their currencyΒ in international trade;Β the Gold DΔ―nΔr. As a result, King Offa of Mercia (who reigned from 757 to 796) desired to develop and display his power in order to influence trade with Muslim Andalus (Spain) and as such he had gold coins minted in his name directly imitating the Gold DΔ―nΔr of his contemporary, Caliph al-Mansur - the Abbasid ruler (d. 775). Therefore, one side of the coin carries the inscription of his name and title in Latin 'Offa Rex' with the other side consisting of the Arabic inscription reading the Islamic Declaration of Faith: "There is no Deity worthy of worship but AllΔh (Alone) - ΩΨ§ Ψ₯ΩΩ Ψ₯ΩΨ§ Ψ§ΩΩΩ."