When the British chieftains started commissioning their own coins they continued the practice of retaining the original elements of Continental coins, while reflecting their own artistic sensibilities at the same time. It must have been a tricky business. On the one hand individual leaders wanted unique coins; but on the other they had to pass muster in the wider world. The practice of copying coins from elsewhere - particularly those regarded as trusted currency - was one that would continue for centuries. A gold coin made during the reign of the eighth-century Anglo-Saxon King Offa has 'OFFA REX' on one side and the inscription 'THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH ALONE' on the other. For a while it was claimed by some as evidence that Offa had converted to Islam - until it was identified as a copy of an Arabic coin. Islamic gold coins of the Abbasid dynasty were the most trusted in the Mediterranean world at the time and Offa's coin-makers were simply giving their own output the best chance of being accepted as credible tender.
- Neil Oliver, A History of Ancient Britain, 2011
See also:
History: The reputation of Queen Aelfthryth, 4 March 2014
Blog: A sunny day on Dartmoor, 29 April 2011
History: Treasures of Mercia, 17 December 2009
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